Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 vs 930 turbo vs 959: extreme sports

By James Page

| 7 Mar 2025

Classic & Sports Car – Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 vs 930 turbo vs 959: extreme sports

The term ‘racing improves the breed’ applies to few cars as appropriately as it does the Porsche 911.

The Stuttgart company has continually developed its flagship model since its 1963 introduction, and there is little doubt that, for the first 20-odd years at least, this was done with one eye firmly on motorsport success.

The result is that there have been many peaks in 911 production, with cars that not only formed the basis for competition models, but which also made stunning road cars, now coveted over and above their ʻstandardʼ brethren.

The Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7’s signature ‘ducktail’ spoiler

The Porsche 911 had already achieved a great deal of success through the 1960s, but the first derivative to really show the heights to which the concept could be taken arrived in 1972.

With the 917 being outlawed by the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobileʼs decision to impose a 3-litre limit for the top Group 5 category of sports cars, Porsche needed to bolster its presence in Groups 3 and 4 with a more competitive development of the 911.

The latter would qualify the marque for the World Championship of Makes, which required that 500 road cars be built for homologation.

The marketing folk predicted that Porsche might be able to sell 80 of them...

The nimble and agile Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 is a joy to drive quickly

The basis for the new model was the range-topping 911S, which boasted 190bhp from its 2341cc flat-six.

Thanks to the use of Nikasil for the cylinder linings – something that had been used in the Porsche 917ʼs flat-12 – the engineers were able to raise the capacity to 2687cc.

The Bosch fuel-injection system was uprated and the five-speed gearbox from the S was employed, but with slightly higher ratios for fourth and fifth.

In addition to that engine, the newly christened Carrera RS 2.7 (for Renn Sport) fulfilled homologation requirements for better aerodynamics – including a discreet but highly effective ʻducktailʼ rear spoiler – and wider wheels. It was lighter, too.

The Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7’s flat-six relies on normal aspiration and race-inspired tuning

Two versions were available: the M471 Sport, which became known as the Lightweight, and the M472 Touring.

The former came with an interior stripped of all excess – mats replaced carpets for one thing, and the ʻplus 2ʼ rear seats were ditched.

The latter came with a few more luxuries and, as a result, tips the scales at 115kg more than its flyweight sibling.

The Carrera RS was quietly unveiled at the 1972 Paris Salon.

Within a week, the first run of 500 had been sold, which secured the Group 4 eligibility as a ʻSpecial GTʼ.

This Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 was built to Touring specification. Its cabin is more luxurious than a Lightweight’s, but still sparse

As it turned out, Porsche would go on to make 1508 in total, meaning that the model could also compete as a Group 3 ʻProduction GTʼ.

Of that run, only 200 would be full Lightweights, the vast majority being built to Touring spec. Just 111 right-hand-drive versions were completed.

Most cars were Grand Prix White, but the one you see here is a striking shade of Signal Orange.

Itʼs easy to see why there are so many devotees to the design of early Porsche 911s – the exterior is beautifully clean, with no fiddly details, vents or frivolities to interrupt the flow towards the rear.

There you find a glassfibre engine lid held down by catches – a light and efficient solution that sits ʻjust soʼ and really doesnʼt have a bad angle.

The Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7’s four-spoke steering wheel features the Stuttgart maker’s crest

This is a Touring example so the interior is a little more luxurious than a Lightweightʼs, and black is the overriding theme – from the reclining seats to the dashboard and carpets.

Ahead lies the central rev counter, with the usual array of switches scattered around. Itʼs not a cabin that will win many design awards, but no matter.

The engine churns into life and settles to a deep grumble.

The floor-hinged pedals are quickly forgotten as we head out for a few exploratory laps of Porscheʼs Silverstone Experience Centre.

The rear-mounted engine means plenty of traction out of slow corners – it simply digs in and goes – and acceleration is still vivid.

The Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7’s sweetly communicative steering and chassis stand out

Period road tests recorded 0-60mph in 5.5 secs and 0-100mph in 15.

More important than the performance against the stopwatch, however, is the way in which that pace is delivered.

The handling is exemplary, with sharp turn-in accompanied by all the feel you could desire through the steering wheel. The faster you go, the better it gets.

The engine comes on song at about 4500rpm, at which point the flat-six growl becomes a crisp, intoxicating bark.

The brakes lack a servo but are strong, and the entire package adds up to way more than the sum of its already impressive parts.

The Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7’s Fuch alloy wheels

No less a person than Denis Jenkinson had an early UK car on test.

Not a man who was easily impressed, ʻJenksʼ commented that the suspension was a bit harsh, but he otherwise raved about it.

That car – MYX 4L – went on to be tested by Autocar. ʻSensational,ʼ the magazine concluded, ʻeven by Porsche standards.ʼ

Never was a truer word spoken: this is a sublime car.

Even though the RS had a part to play in motorsport, the 1970s was the decade during which turbocharging took hold in competition.

This one-of-nine Porsche 911 (930) turbo came in a Martini livery to celebrate the marque’s competition efforts

Porsche had been experimenting with the technology as early as 1969, when 2-litre 901 units were blown for use in the 911 and 914/6.

That attempt was ultimately aborted, but the firm would revisit the theme when it took its 917 to the Can-Am series.

Lessons learned in reducing lag were applied to the new road-car project.

The original Porsche 911 turbo – the 930 – made its debut at Geneva in 1975.

The 2994cc engine was based on the Carrera RS 3.0 unit, with modified camshafts running in new aluminium cam boxes.

This Porsche 911 turbo’s Martini theme continues inside

There was electronic ignition, too, plus Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection.

Drive was transmitted to the rear wheels via a four-speed gearbox that would be better able to cope with the torque produced by the racing derivatives.

Porscheʼs press release stated in a typically perfunctory manner that: ʻFive gears would simply not be functional.ʼ

That initial model lasted until 1977, when a 3.3-litre engine was dropped in.

This new unit was 23kg heavier than its predecessor and – thanks to a new clutch design – pushed back by 30mm.

The Porsche 911 turbo’s wider track helps put down its extra power

More weight, positioned even further towards the rear: just what the 911 needed. The suspension engineers must have been delighted.

The 3.3 was, in fact, heavier all round – at more than 1300kg.

Air conditioning was fitted, while beneath the surface were bigger brakes and larger tyres – 205/55s up front and 225/50 rears.

Power was boosted from 260 to 300bhp to compensate, the engine gaining an intercooler that led to the ʻwhale tailʼ spoiler acquiring a less pleasing flat top in place of the stepped original.

The 930 you see here was displayed at the 1978 British Motor Show on the Porsche stand before passing into its press fleet.

The Porsche 911 turbo’s 3-litre flat-six makes 450bhp

Now owned by marque specialist Howard Watts, it is one of only nine cars built that year with the Martini livery offered to celebrate the long-lasting tie-in between Porscheʼs racing efforts and the Italian drinks company.

The effect is relatively low-key on the outside, with the famous stripes running the length of the carʼs flanks, but the interior is far more extrovert.

The colour scheme continues, with the most striking aspect being the ʻFuhrmannʼ orthopaedic seats.

Instead of feeling of a piece, like a conventional seat, these have a series of blocks against which you rest. Itʼs an interesting experiment, but you can see why they didnʼt make it into all Porsche 911s.

Cassette storage in the Porsche 911 turbo’s centre console

Writing in Autocar, John Miles reckoned that the interior of the Porsche was ʻergonomically almost perfectʼ.

Far be it from me to disagree with a former Formula One driver and renowned tester, but either his standards were low or he was in a particularly forgiving mood.

The 911 turbo was always well specified, so thereʼs a radio/cassette and electric windows – plus, in the Martini car, a dictaphone! – but many of the knobs and switches are placed either out of reach or exactly where you wouldn’t expect them to be.

The driving position and visibility are good, however, which is just as well because you need to be very aware of whatʼs going on around you, such is the pace of the 3.3-litre 930.

The Porsche 911 turbo’s huge ‘whale tail’

Once the turbo is spinning hard, acceleration is epic.

Period tests found that the 40-60mph sprint in second gear could be covered in only 2.1 secs, while 60-90mph took a mere 3.5 secs – an improvement of nearly 2 secs over the 3-litre, which suffered from more pronounced lag.

A tight, damp track is not the place to go searching for the carʼs limits, but at modest speeds the traction is impressive, with good feedback from the steering wheel enabling you to place the 911 with great accuracy.

Miles concluded that: ʻIn the final analysis it will bite the lunatic or unwary, but at cornering speeds inconceivable on the road.ʼ

On this surface we felt it unwise to test his assertion that the initial tendency towards understeer could be switched to ʻgentle oversteerʼ were you to lift off the throttle...

While there’s no such thing as an ‘ordinary’ Porsche 911, only a select few rank among the true greats

And so to the 959.

Professor Ernst Fuhrmann had enthusiastically pursued new models such as the 928 and 924, but new Porsche chairman Peter Schutz – who took over the firm in 1980 – was keen to see how far the companyʼs stalwart could be developed.

He therefore gave engineer Helmuth Bott the green light to go to town on the Porsche 911.

Porsche gave a hint of things to come at Frankfurt in 1981 with a one-off, all-wheel-drive 911, but at the same show two years later it unveiled a far more advanced concept: the ʻGruppe Bʼ.

As the name suggests, the car was aimed at the Group B category of rallying and racing, featuring four-wheel drive, a six-speed gearbox, double-wishbone suspension all round and a 2.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six.

Turning the Gruppe B into the 959, however, was not the work of a moment.

The four-wheel-drive Porsche 959 generates plenty of grip

In 1983, Porsche decided that all future engines should be able to meet American emissions legislation.

Fair enough – the US market accounted for half of the firmʼs sales – but it held up the 959 for a year.

The focus on all things Stateside would also prove to be a waste of time, as we shall see.

Early in development, Porsche moved away from a World Rally Championship campaign in favour of long-distance events such as the Paris-Dakar, which would become an invaluable proving ground.

In 1984, René Metge and Dominique Lemoyne won in the 953, a much-modified Porsche 911 that featured a version of the four-wheel-drive system.

The following year, Porsche entered models with, in effect, the 959ʼs transmission but a Carrera 3.2 engine.

The Porsche 959’s embossed steering wheel

By 1986, the factory had arrived at almost the final spec, via the addition of the twin-turbo unit, and the Metge/Lemoyne crew was again victorious.

By then, road-car production was on the horizon. Potential buyers had been patiently waiting since the 959ʼs unveiling at Frankfurt in 1985, but not until early 1987 would deliveries begin.

In the meantime, Federal emissions and safety regulations had grown ever more stringent, and it was eventually decided to withdraw the car from that market.

It would be 2001-ʼ02 before legislation allowed 959s to be driven legally in America.

What the rest of the world got was a technological showcase that featured every gadget and gizmo that Porsche had in its arsenal.

The Porsche 959’s interior is much the same as the standard 911’s

The galvanised monocoque was derived from the Porsche 911 turbo shell, albeit heavily modified.

It was clothed in a mixture of composite and aluminium panels in an attempt to keep the weight down, and whereas the 911 created lift and a relatively high amount of drag, wind-tunnel development meant that the 959 was planted far more firmly to the road and produced a Cd of only 0.31.

The 2850cc flat-six is, as in its sibling, at the rear. While the block is air-cooled, however, the cylinder heads have water coursing through them.

Two KKK turbochargers are fitted, working not in parallel – which would lead to interminable lag – but in series, and the six-speed gearbox is hooked up to a sophisticated, computer-controlled four-wheel-drive set-up.

You can choose between Dry, Wet, Snow and Off-Road settings, and the system continuously measures the yaw rate and inputs from throttle, steering and brake, plus data from the ABS sensors, in order to provide the best traction.

The Porsche 959’s ride and damper controls

The ride height and dampers (two at each corner) are adjustable via knobs in the centre console, although the 959 automatically hunkers down at speed anyway in order to reduce lift.

Our featured car looks particularly good in its special-order metallic Weinrot paint and tan leather.

While it appears almost innocuous from the front, once you get beyond the B-pillar there is hardly a flat or plain surface.

Itʼs all sweeps and curves back to the wide, muscular rear end, giving the 959 an aggressive stance that makes it looks as if it would be all but impossible to unstick.

The interior, while sumptuous and supremely comfortable, doesn’t exactly go out of its way to distance itself from a standard Porsche 911.

There are those controls for the electronic wizardry and a dial showing how drive is being distributed, but otherwise the central rev counter is the same, as are the floor-hinged pedals.

The Porsche 959’s two turbos run in sequence

There are no histrionics involved in firing it up or pulling away. The engine is subdued at idle and the clutch surprisingly light.

A little body roll is noticeable through the first few corners of the circuit, but the exceptional seats hold you firmly in place.

Itʼs all very agreeable – almost soft – and you begin to forget that this is a car capable of just shy of 200mph.

Then you wind the engine out to more than 4500rpm and it comes flooding back.

The acceleration is savage yet, at the same time, efficient.

Period tests recorded 0-60mph in 3.7 secs, with 100mph coming up in 8.3 but, despite that sort of pace, there is no ʻhold your breath and hang onʼ moment – the second turbo kicks in and any straight worthy of the name is simply dispatched.

The Porsche 959’s alloy wheels have hollow spokes

Nor does it ever feels as if itʼs going to bite. It turns in well, and from there it just grips and grips.

Itʼs hard to think of any other supercar thatʼs as easy to drive. Even on a cold, slippery circuit, the 959 is not in the least intimidating.

It didnʼt make much business sense, though. Each car reputedly cost Porsche at least twice the list price to build, but that wasnʼt really the point.

ʻItʼs a technical showcase as much as anything,ʼ wrote Autocar, ʻa laboratory for a host of developments that will find their way into the 911 range in years to come.

‘You really canʼt help wondering what the 911 will be like as it rolls off the production line in 1999!ʼ

Bigger and uglier would be the glib answer, but, to be fair, the turbo version of the 996 didnʼt arrive until late 2000.

The previous generation – the prettier and still air-cooled 993 – did indeed inherit four-wheel drive and a six-speed gearbox.

But the 959 shouldnʼt be judged purely on what it did for subsequent 911s. Instead, itʼs a glorious showcase for Porscheʼs talents and a brilliant supercar in its own right.

After all this time, it still makes a compelling case for itself as the ultimate Porsche 911.

Images: Tony Baker

Thanks to: Simon Garnham and Howard Watts; Nick Perry at Porsche GB; Porsche Experience Centre

This was first in our December 2013 magazine; all information was correct at the date of original publication

Factfiles

Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7

Sold/number built 1973/1308 (Touring)
Construction steel monocoque, with glassfibre engine lid
Engine all-aluminium, sohc-per-bank, air-cooled 2687cc flat-six, Bosch fuel injection
Max power 210bhp @ 6300rpm
Max torque 188lb ft @ 5100rpm
Transmission five-speed manual, RWD
Suspension independent, at front by struts, lower wishbones rear semi-trailing arms; torsion bars, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar f/r
Steering rack and pinion
Brakes ventilated discs
Length 13ft 8in (4165mm)
Width 5ft 3½in (1613mm)
Height 4ft 4in (1320mm)
Wheelbase 7ft 5in (2260mm)
Weight 2398lb (1088kg)
0-60mph 5.5 secs
Top speed 149mph Mpg 16.7
Price new £7232

Porsche 911 (930) turbo

Sold/number built 1974-’89/21,589 (all)
Construction steel monocoque
Engine all-aluminium, sohc-per bank, air-cooled 3299cc flat-six, Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection
Max power 300bhp @ 5500rpm
Max torque 304lb ft @ 4000rpm
Transmission four-speed manual, RWD
Suspension independent, at front by struts, lower wishbones, torsion bars rear semi-trailing arms, transverse torsion bars; telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar f/r
Steering rack and pinion
Brakes ventilated and drilled discs
Length 14ft 1in (4291mm)
Width 5ft 9in (1775mm)
Height 4ft 3in (1310mm)
Wheelbase 7ft 5in (2272mm)
Weight 2866lb (1300kg)
0-60mph 5.4 secs
Top speed 161mph
Mpg 20
Price new £24,499

Porsche 959

Sold/number built 1987-’88/283
Construction steel monocoque with composite bodyshell, aluminium and polyurethane panels
Engine all-alloy, dohc-per-bank, air- and liquid-cooled 2849cc flat-six, twin KKK turbochargers, Bosch fuel injection
Max power 450bhp @ 6500rpm
Max torque 369lb ft @ 5000rpm
Transmission six-speed manual, computer-controlled 4WD
Suspension independent, by double wishbones, coil springs, dual telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar f/r
Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes ventilated, cross-drilled discs, with servo and ABS
Length 13ft 11in (4249mm)
Width 6ft (1829mm)
Height 4ft 2in (1270mm)
Wheelbase 7ft 6in (2300mm)
Weight 2980lb (1351kg)
0-60mph 3.7 secs
Top speed 197mph
Mpg 16
Price new £140,000