1995 Porsche 911 993 RS

Both RS and Carrera are holy words in Porsche nomenclature, with the former representing Rennsport in German (meaning race sport) and the latter first used on the 356 in recognition of Porsche's class victories in the Carrera Panamericana races in Mexico in the 1950s. The RS was intended to homologate parts and components for use in motorsport competition. The Carrera 2.7 RS of 1973 and 1974 came equipped with a larger engine compared to the standard 911S, along with larger brakes, wider rear wheels and rear fenders, and a 'ducktail' spoiler. Weight saving measures reduced its overall weight, and the addition of the Sport Lightweight trim brought the weight down even further. A total of 1,580 examples were made and qualified for the FIA Group 4 class.

During the 1990s, Porsche revisited the Rennsport formula with its final generation of air-cooled Type 993 911. Introduced during the 1995 model year, the engineers of the 993 Carrera RS 3.8 focused heavily on weight reduction, removing the electric power windows, adjustable mirrors, central locking, headlight washers, and audio system speakers. The size of the windshield washer bottle was reduced along with the glass thickness. Well bolstered leather bucket seats saved an additional 66lbs and sound insulation was removed throughout the car. Simple door cards with pull straps instead of door handles rounded off the extensive weight-saving measures. It had simplified interior lighting, an alloy front boot lid and doors, a front strut brace, ball-joint front damper mounts, and adjustable anti-roll bars with five positions for the 24-millimetre front bar and three positions for the 21-millimetre rear piece. Additional mechanical improvements included an anti-lock system for the 993 Turbo brakes with 'Big Red' calipers, ABD traction control, and a limited-slip differential.

The 3.8-liter normally aspirated Type M64/20 engine produced nearly 300 horsepower at 6,500 RPM and just over 260 pound-feet of torque at 5,400 RPM. The weight of the engine was reduced via newly designed forged pistons and a Variocam variable-length intake system. It was given dual oil coolers, lightened rocker arms, and several other performance upgrades befitting its role as a homologation special. The Type G50/31 six-speed manual transmission was given gearing to optimize acceleration rather than top speed.

In the front were 225/40ZR-18 tires while the rear received 265/35ZR-18R tires. They were wrapped around special 18-inch 'Speedline for Porsche' three-piece, light-alloy wheels with magnesium centers.

The Clubsport Aero package added a large rear wing and front spoiler from the track-only 993 RS Clubsport. Production of the 993 RS 3.8 lasted from 1994 to 1996 with 274 examples built during the 1995 model year. Just over 1,000 examples (1,014 examples including 213 Clubsport variants) were built, of which none were originally exported to the United States.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2022