Classic Porsche 911, racing car Porsche 993: Just racing cars

Anyone who looks at the blue 911 in its tight-fitting sports outfit will be amazed that this bolide actually has license plates on the front and rear. Admittedly, the Porsche 911 Carrera RS of the 993 generation has no place on the road. Because it’s not just the wheels, spoilers and tail unit that catapult it to Laguna Seca, Suzuka or the Hockenheimring both visually and technically, and the interior of the Zuffenhausener leaves no doubt that it’s a real racing car. If you want a Porsche 993 on the road that offers more sportiness than the usual Carrera models with rear-wheel or all-wheel drive, you can sit in the cool Porsche 993 Carrera 4S or even the 408 hp turbo Protz.

Because the Porsche 993 has hardly anything of the tame restraint of the previous generation 964. As the RS version, it was more robust, crisper and always sharper than its brothers – with the extendable spoiler, cup rims and corresponding mirrors inside and out, it was visually restrained despite the bucket seats. The Porsche 911 Carrera RS of the successor series 993 is of a completely different caliber. Visually it is already a weapon and inside it is much more of a racing car than the sportiest tourer.

On paper, the 3.8-liter boxer engine in the rear hardly offers any more impressive performance data than the tamer Carrera models of the mid-1990s. The 993 RS delivers 221 kW / 300 hp and a maximum torque of 360 Nm at 5,400 rpm. That’s just ten horsepower fewer than the model from which the Carrera RS was derived – the Porsche 993 Cup. However, while the production vehicle weighed just 1,100 kilograms, the six-cylinder in the rear, which roars wildly even during normal driving, weighs almost 1.3 tons. The biggest difference to the normal 993 models, which grew from 272 to 286 to 300 hp over the years of production, is not the almost identical engine performance, but simply the engine itself. Like the predecessor Porsche 911 of the 964 series, the rear of the series rumbled -993 had a 3.6 liter unit, while a 3.8 liter racing engine roared in the rear end of the RS racer.

Built for maximum downforce on country roads and winding racetracks with its extensive spoiler decoration regardless of any aesthetic specifications, the Porsche 993 RS can achieve a top speed of almost 280 km/h on request – hardly more than the models that were driven in everyday life by dentists and lawyers. However, its strength is not the maximum speed, but a sharp turn-in behavior and snappy brakes. The weight saving of almost 200 kilograms works wonders in terms of driving dynamics and, due to the lack of insulating materials and the rear seats, makes for a strenuous background noise. No matter how much you turn off the 3.8 boxer – you can save on a radio and boxes as well as a heating system, because the Porsche 911 RS of the 993 series heats up faster than you would like. The driver not only sits inside in tight sports shells, but also looks at a lot of bare metal, because the carpets are missing, as are comfort details of any kind.

It is always on the purist footsteps of the first RS generation, which celebrated its premiere in 1972. Instead of the former rump, the tail unit is enthroned at the rear, which would probably also have kept a Concorde on the ground, and the spoiler at the front also ensures that the sports car conveys its performance to the roadway in a way that is as wild as it is impressive. The clutch and six-speed manual transmission, like the steering, require a strong hand and appropriate leg muscles. However, a few extremely brisk kilometers through the sun-drenched Black Forest show that the 993 RS was not only able to do it on the race track, but that it actually belongs there. Curves, hairpin bends, hairpins, late braking and powerful acceleration at high revs – this is the living space in which the 993 RS feels at home. The driver should rather be a pilot who also likes it a little rougher, because the RS, like its predecessors, is not for bouncing around in the city.

Anyone driving this blue wonder of the year 1994 in the city center either drives to an inspection, a club meeting or has to put on new tires. But no sympathy when the pilot in the sports seat is sweating down his forehead and temples – he must have had a lot of fun in the last few hours. Certainly. Who would like to dream: the offer on the European car market for the Porsche 911 Carrera RS of the generation from the years 1994 / 95 is extremely small. Many models are in collections or are all too rarely run on racetracks – you can’t do anything for less than 300,000 euros.