Porsche 911 Carrera RSR

There were enough hints of the competition potential of the Porsche 911. Vic Elford had proven it by winning the 1968 Rallye de Monte Carlo in a Porsche 911T.

Vic Elford, supported by David Stone, 1968 Rallye Monte-Carlo.

More and more privateer racers were choosing the 911 as their weapon of choice for racing and Porsche was taking notice. They started developing more sporting versions such as the 911 RS, and were met with more successes.

 For 1973, they decided to use the knowledge acquired building their race cars and apply it to the 911.


Swiss race driver Herbert Müller, teamed up with Gijs van Lennep, won the 1973 Targa Florio driving a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR.

The result was the 911 Carrera RSR, which was met with great success in its first year.


1973 24 Hours of Daytona-winning Brumos Porsche 911 Carrera RSR of Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood.

The RSR came in 4th overall at the 24 heures du Mans, and was 1st overall in the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Targa Florio and the 24 Hours of Daytona!

The huge success of the Carrera RSR pointed the way for Porsche, and lead to the development of the RSR Turbo, the 934, and the 935, all in turn successful racers.

911@50 – Porsche Carrera RSR

After the relative success of the Porsche 911 in competition, Porsche saw opportunity to bring it into higher levels of racing.

Starting with the 911S, the technicians developed a lightened car, and focused on increasing the capacity of the flat-six engine.

Out of these developments came the non-turbocharged Carrera RSR 2.8 created to compete in the 1973 GT Championship.

Right out of the box, the car showed huge potential, winning the 1973 Daytona 24 Hours at the hands of Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood.

This was followed up by a win of the 12 Hours of Sebring, driven again by Gregg and Haywood, joined also by Dave Helmick.



Pen&ink and markers on gray archival stock
© Paul Chenard

It famously won the last official Targa Florio, driven by Herbert Müller and Gijs van Lennep.

With the record of important wins and high placings of the Carrera RSR, Porsche took the GT Championship.