Saved only for an elite club of performance machinery, the RS badge - meaning Rennsport, the German word for racing - is arguably the world's most revered sports car nameplate for both Porsche and sports car aficionados and has featured on some legendary cars, not to mention the utmost desirable, and astronomically priced vintage 911's you can find, that is of course if you can find them. It's no surprise then, that after nearly half a century since its first appearance, Stuttgart keeps reviving to this day with each new generation of the 911.
Although the RS badge can be linked further back to 1950s Porsches racing at Le Mans, it was the legendary 911 Carrera 2.7 RS that started it all in 1973, a lightweight, sub-1000kg build, with its bigger brakes, Fuchs alloys, larger 210bhp engine that pushed it to a top speed of 255 km/h (168 mph) and 0-100 (62) in just over 5 seconds and that iconic ducktail rear spoiler, that made it clear this was a track machine slightly toned down for the road, a homologation road version of a race car that allowed Porsche to dominate the European GT Championship and that was the base for other of Porsche's greatest track machines.
Racing Pedigree
It was also the first time a 911 was named Carrera, after the Carrera Panamericana race. Over the years there have been many great RS Porsches, but none more special than the 1970s first ones. Perhaps it has something to do with how amazing those vibrant paint colors look in contrast with the side "Carrera" decals? The RS Pack is a celebration of not only one of the greatest sports car badges of all time, but also some of the coolest combinations of paint color and iconic Carrera side decals that for the past 5 decades have become synonymous with the most extreme Porsches for the road. In Glacier Blue, Gulf Blue, Tangerine Orange and Viper Green. The RS badge was but a warm memory when Porsche GT director Andres Preuninger decided to revive it in 2004 with the introduction of the 996 GT3 RS. There is no hiding Preuninger's inspiration for the 996 GT3 RS. With its white paintwork and blue script down its flanks, it makes a very reverential nod to that 2.7 RS original.
Details
The wheels evoke the RS's original Fuchs alloys, although Preuninger admits that painting them with their polished rims was heinously expensive. The ducktail is replaced here with a spoiler, which seemed preposterously large when the car arrived in 2004 but today looks meek in relation to what followed it. A staunch reminder of performance cars of another era, uncluttered with frivolities such as technology or comfort for a purer track focused driving experience, may the RS badge 911 RS and RSR examples from this period border on the ultimate in desirability as far as classic 911 models are concerned, with stratospherically high values well into six figures.
