YOUR FIRST 911 993 RS WHY THE 3.2 CARRERA IS

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YOUR FIRST 911
WHY THE 3.2 CARRERA IS
YOUR PERFECT STARTER 911
SECOND
THOUGHTS?
PANAMERA ON UK ROADS
RUF GREENSTER
ELECTRO RETRO TARGA
FUEL INJECTION
FITTING A MAF KIT
11
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£4.50 US$7.99 CANADA $12.95
No.188
993 RS
9 770959 878081
THREE WAY ROAD AND
RACE CAR SHOOTOUT
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The Blues Brothers...
Is colour enough to get three 993RSs together in one
place? Well, what other justification could you need?
Words: Adam Towler Photography: Antony Fraser
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993RS GROUP TEST
3
9E: Riviera Blue, in factory parlance. Colour
provided the irresistible force to get this group
together – and just one glimpse of their
inimitably curvaceous 993 rumps confirms it to be a
grand idea. But what they represent to Porsche’s
mid-nineties evolution of the hardcore 911 was never
far from our minds. We have today a left-hand-drive
993RS in standard (M002) specification (albeit modified
to near Clubsport spec), a right-hand-drive 993RS
Clubsport (M003) and a 993 Cup car. How they relate
to each other, and how they drive, is why we’ve
descended on Porsche’s excellent new Silverstone
Experience Centre and, in particular, its short, twisty
and challenging handling circuit.
As this magazine featured a 993RS (alongside a
993GT2) recently, we’re not going to delve into the
background of the car again too deeply. Its roots
lay with the previous 964RS – especially the rare
3.8-litre version of that car – combined with the overall
technical advancement of the 993 model series.
It’s in the detail differences between the RS and the
standard Carrera, and then between the standard-spec
RS and the Clubsport RS, that we’re more interested
in here.
The 3.8-litre tag the 993RS wears is still
unsurpassed in volume, even today – although, with
3744cc, it is both smaller than today’s 997 Carrera S
gen2 (3800cc) and the new 997 GT3 mk2 (3797cc)
and, in truth, closer to 3.7 litres if the badge was going
to be a little more honest.
This grunty M64/20 engine replaced the standard
Carrera’s pre-Varioram M64/05 motor and brought
300hp at 400rpm higher up the rev range, at a peak
of 6500rpm (compared with 272hp), and an increase in
pulling power to 262lb ft, also 400rpm higher, at
5400rpm (compared with 243lb ft).
The extra capacity of the RS’s motor is due to a
larger bore – from 100mm to 102mm – and inside there
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are plenty of modifications, such as new piston spray
nozzles and Grafal coating (both taken from the 911
Turbo), higher-lift intake and exhaust valves, wider
ports in the head and, of course, the debut of the
Varioram variable intake pipe length system alongside
the regular resonance induction system. The Bosch
DME system was remapped to adapt and optimise
these mechanical changes, and the engine sat on hard
rubber instead of hydraulic engine mounts.
The G50 gearbox (G50/31 for the M002 and G50/32
for the M003) differed from the standard Carrera’s
G50/21 ’box by featuring steel synchros throughout, a
quick-shift mechanism, harder transmission mounts
and a 40/60 per cent limited-slip differential. The M002
car stuck with the standard dual-mass flywheel but,
as we’ll see later on, a solid flywheel was one of many
changes on the Clubsport model.
Naturally, the suspension was upgraded and tuned
specifically for the more focused RS driving experience.
For the front axle, the control arms and tie rods were
mounted lower on the hubs – and there were harder
rubber mountings. A 23mm anti-roll bar was used, with
five adjustable positions available, the middle setting
recommended for road use. Firmer twin-tube gas
dampers were fitted, with the Porsche service
documentation for the UK wryly observing that:
‘They have a more comfortable characteristic than
those used on the 964RS.’ Very true. The uniball top
mounts for them have two adjustment positions to
alter the camber.
In addition, the 993’s prized multi-link axle was
similarly enhanced, with a 20mm anti-roll bar adjustable
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in three positions, camber and ride height adjustment,
new dampers and Turbo-spec driveshafts.
Any serious 911 should be blessed with a
consummately serious set of wheels, and those on the
993RS were another visual classic: gorgeous three-part
split rims, 8J x 18 up front and 10J x 18 on the rear,
with 225/40 ZR 18s and 265/35 ZR 18s, respectively, a
choice of either Bridgestone S-01s or Pirelli P Zeros
being the rubber options in-period.
However, in true RS style – more than any GT3 ethos
– it’s the items that Porsche left out that form a
substantial part of the performance enhancement.
The PVC underseal, for example, was applied more
sparingly – and the front bonnet, changed to
aluminium, did without a pneumatic strut. There were
also no rear seatbelt mounts, various trim mouldings in
the interior were left on the shelf, and so was the
cassette (whatever they were...) box.
Reading on down the list, manual mirrors replaced
the electrically-powered items, the front sidelights and
side glass were thinner (but not the front ’screen, as is
commonly believed) and the simple RS door cards
featured manual winders (although electric windows
were an option on the M002) and a simple strap to
open the door. Door pockets? Pah, forget those, as you
could the heated rear window and a good proportion of
the interior sound-deadening.
What you could look forward to were leather sports
seats derived from those in the 964 Speedster, mounts
for a racing harness and the prep for a fire extinguisher
fitment. Moreover, if you ordered a left-hand-drive
model, as our M002 example is here today, you gained
Mike Curtler’s M003
Clubsport is one
of just seven
right-hand-drive
examples (just five
are believed to
remain) and is pristine,
with just 14,000 miles
on the clock
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993RS GROUP TEST
a huge 92-litre fuel tank.
Visually, the RS received a chin spoiler (lips either
side, with a gap in the middle), black plastic sill
extensions and a colour-coded whale tail rear spoiler.
The overall effect is so exquisitely judged, its claim to
be the horniest looking road 911 of all time is worthy
of a significant brawl amongst Porsche-nuts come
last orders.
Down in the paint shop, the colour choice was limited
Ben Savill’s RS (brought along today by Steve Winter
of Jaz Porsche, who tends to all three cars here)
doesn’t look much like a ‘standard’ car as I walk
towards it. Chiefly, that’s because it wears, like the
other cars present, the Clubsport aerodynamic
package (more on which later), often referred to in
the UK as the ‘RSR’ kit. It’s also because it sports
hardcore-looking BBS split rims, has a black rollcage,
Bilstein PSS9 suspension, a sports exhaust, a pair of
Left: Stance is low, with
wheels tucked into
curvaceously flared arches.
Clubsport spec means a
full cage and a minimum of
sound-deadening
to be the horniest looking road 911 of
“Itsallclaim
time is surely worthy of serious debate
”
to Grand Prix White, Black, Guards Red, Speed Yellow,
Riviera Blue, Polar Silver metallic and Midnight Blue
metallic – the two metallic finishes not being eligible
for M003 cars. All the interiors were black, with
black-and-grey leather seats, but seat belts, door
loops and the RS logo inside were all finished in the
chosen body colour, adding a dash of flair to an
otherwise sombre and workmanlike cabin.
All in, the RS weighed 1270kg, 100kg less than a
stock Carrera which, with the useful gains in power and
torque, meant the 0–62mph time was now dispatched
in just 5 seconds dead, and 172mph was achievable.
Recaro bucket seats and an Alcantara-covered race
steering wheel. With 150,000km on the clock, this RS
has clearly seen some action. And while that means
it’s not in concours condition, it also lends the car a
delicious battle-hardened aura, exuded by the patina
of both the exterior and interior.
As a track-modified M002, it is also an interesting
mix of the raw (hard steering wheel with centring
marker) and the ‘touring’ (electric windows, carpeting).
Yes, it’s noisy but, as I shall find out, nothing like as
noisy as the others.
Despite the slight unfamiliarity of a left-hooker, the
Left: Gorgeous three-piece
wheels cover the Big Red
four-pot calipers. Carrera
RS is surely the ultimate
adornment for any 911?
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This is the proper racer out
of the trio – a full-on Cup
car with racing history,
including the Nürburgring
24-Hour race. Owner Vic
Cohen actually uses it on
the road, which is brave!
good vibes start the moment you wedge yourself into
the RS’s bucket seat – and don’t leave until you’re
standing outside again wondering why one’s piggy
bank is so lamely short of the task. The driving
position is intrinsically ‘right’, and tucked behind the
business-like ’wheel, the throb of the 3.8-litre flat-six
is an ever-present reminder that you’re about to drive
something special. Just how special has an awful lot to
do with the quality of the driver’s controls: not just
their clarity of feedback, but also how they relate so
perfectly to each other. The gearshift, for instance, is
the epitome of the motoring journalist’s rifle-based
cliché, the brakes sturdy under foot – but perfect in
moderation, and the power steering reassuring in
weight but never cumbersome and never unnervingly
stiff if you have to call on its services in a hurry.
It soon becomes clear that the Porsche Handling
Circuit will be easy meat for our Riviera trio. In this RS,
third and fourth gears are all that are required: third,
even for the awkward downhill right-into-a-left that
flicks immediately back and onto a short straight to
the farthest point on the circuit. The 3.8-litre engine
loves to lug in the mid range, and it’s soon apparent
that progress is more elegant through here if you’re
not as high in the rev range as you are in second.
Only the final straight back towards the centre is
long enough for a squirt of fourth, but all too soon
I’m picking my braking point.
It feels fleet of foot, eager to change direction and
reassuring, as the pivot point of the chassis appears
to be somewhere below your nether regions. There
are no lurid tail slides today, but loading up the chassis
still further through the tighter corners unleashes a
touch of understeer, the warning conveyed by a
squirrel seemingly nibbling at the ’wheel. By the end
of my session, it feels as if each lap takes about
ten seconds...
On to Mike Curtler’s M003 Clubsport, and what a very
special car this is: one of only seven right-hand-drive
M003s (with only five thought to remain in existence)
It’s a race car, and it drives
like one. The Cup car is
hardcore – with solid, or at
least very hard, mountings
for everything, plus a
race clutch and no power
steering. It’s feral and
frenetic
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993RS GROUP TEST
out of an overall RHD 993RS population of 48. It has
just 14,000 miles on the clock and is something akin to
Porsche royalty as a result. Just standing next to it I’m
struck by its exotic aura, borne from the potency in
its stance and details, and the fact that it has to be
unique in provenance and condition. Its owner is a lucky
man, but then he’s put the graft in to get there, not
least because he had to wait eight years to buy it as
potential opportunities to purchase drifted in and out.
This is his second 993RS – the first was a black RHD
M002 – and, as he says, it’s ‘the ultimate, and a keeper’.
Clubsport specification back in the days of the
993RS meant much more than a half-cage and a
battery cut-off switch. These cars got the big-wing kit,
welded-in and colour-coded rollcage – still a LHD
Porsche’s Driving
design, even in this RHD car. The two seats were now Experience circuit is a
Nomex-covered racing buckets, and a six-point
bit too tight for this
Schroth racing harness replaced the inertia-reel belts. racer. Going ‘quite fast’
The carpeting and sound-proofing material have been isn’t really what it
removed, and just one sun visor remains in what is a
does best
dramatically bare cabin: flick the bare underside of the
roof with your fingers and the sound cannons off the
interior like a primitive reverb box. A battery cut-off
switch lurks next to the light switch – something I
dearly hope we won’t need today – and even under the
front bonnet the carpet has been removed, so Porsche
felt obliged to spray the whole trunk area properly,
seeing as it’s on display.
Clubsport spec back in the days of the 993RS
“
meant more than a half cage and battery cut-off
”
for starters, consisting of a wrap-around front spoiler
with a rubber lip underneath and that huge rear wing.
Those with an eye for detail will note that, although
the latter looks like the one fitted to the nutty GT2
cousin of this car, it has a different construction, being
a GRP wing bolted to a standard steel engine lid, unlike
the all-GRP item on the turbocharged car.
But M003s also gained the aforementioned different
gearbox, with shorter ratios for fourth, fifth and sixth,
and there were harder transmission mounts and a
solid flywheel (instead of the dual-mass item) with a
sprung centre plate but a road-type lining. A suspension
crossbrace was fitted as standard, along with a
Strapped tightly into the seat, the sense of
excitement, stirred in with the weighty presence of
responsibility, is palpable and insistent. After the deep
roar of the M002 car, the sound inside here is more
layered, and much louder. You can hear and feel all the
internal machinations of the flat-six: the vibrations,
usually filtered away, that run through the car and then
your body, and the sound of countless cogs and bits of
steel and aluminium in the drivetrain – all clattering
and alive in a kind of vaguely syncopated rhythm.
That means that, on the move, this M003 car is in
some ways much more of an onslaught compared to
its standard stable mate but, perversely, it also feels
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more delicate. From the moment I turn the gorgeous,
slim, three-spoke leather steering wheel, this Clubsport
is electrifying to steer. It runs appreciably more
negative camber than our M002 example, and is on
Toyo 888s rather than P Zero Corsas. Whatever the
reason, the steering response the moment you turn
away from dead ahead is sensational, and the whole
car is alive in your hands. Despite all the sound effects,
it still doesn’t actually feel that harsh – not as
unyielding as the 964RS I happened to be driving the
week before – and its turn-in is so precise and quick
that, perhaps even more so than the previous car, it
reduces this challenging little circuit to little more than
a few blurring steering inputs. It’s this nimbleness that
is the car’s ace card, as its owner testifies: ‘On a track
day, the moderns often leave me on a straight, but you
can usually make up most of that in the corners.’
Having driven it, I can quite see why.
In some ways, this article has been written
backwards, as the basic design of the 993 Cup car
predates the RSs here, even if this particular model
is of 1995 vintage. Work started on the 993 Cup at
Weissach in the May of 1993, and in testing at Mugello
Walter Röhrl was three seconds per lap faster in the
new car compared to its 964-based predecessor.
1993 was a watershed year for sports car racing, the
tragic waste of the Group C category through the FIA’s
ruinous 3.5-litre engine formula over the previous years
leaving a shaky, but determined, new world of
privateers with road-based machinery. That year, the
964 3.8 RSR won both the Le Mans 24 hours and the
Spa 24 hours, amongst many others, and would go on
to win Le Mans again the following year. Once again,
Porsche provided the vital backbone to customer
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sports car racing.
The Cup car, despite its looks, wasn’t a watereddown version of any 993RSR – that didn’t arrive until
the 1997 season in the GT3 class – in fact, in its first
season of Supercup, it ran without any spoilers at all,
and even kept the standard electric rear wing.
Nevertheless, it’s the proper racer out of our trio.
The 3.8-litre engine does without Varioram but, with
Supercup cams and solid lifters, it produces around 315
urgent horsepower, a figure which had grown from the
310hp in the ’94 season, thanks to changes to the valve
gear. As befits any racing engine, the maintenance
schedule of the unit is judged in hours, not miles. The
rear subframe is bolted directly to the body, with
spring and damper rates far higher than for the road
cars, and the front turrets are cut off for easy camber
adjustment. There’s a racing clutch with sintered metal
linings and a 50/60 per cent LSD, along with brakes off
the 964 Turbo and Pagid race pads. The power steering
system was omitted, but the ABS was retained, albeit
reprogrammed for circuit use. With absolutely no
interior at all, alloy doors (although not on our example
today), centre-lock alloy/magnesium wheels and
Macralon rear side glass – not to mention an engine
some 30kg lighter – Cup weight was quoted at 1110kg.
Cup cars were usually delivered from the factory in
either red, white or black, wearing Pirelli rain tyres, but
our Cup owner swears that this particular Cup was
painted Riviera Blue from new. That man is Vic Cohen,
an irrepressible and hugely knowledgeable Porsche
enthusiast and serial 911 owner. And he’s just handed
me the key!
This particular Cup was built in April ’95 and raced in
the Supercup with Eichin Racing before being driven by
Ben Savill’s 993RS
has covered an
action-packed
150,000 kilometres,
which probably makes
it one of the highest
mileage RSs around.
Good to see it used,
we say!
THANKS
Many thanks to: Vic
Cohen, Mike Curtler and
Ben Savill, plus Steve
Winter of Jaz Porsche:
020 8903 1118,
www.jazweb.co.uk
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Like the other cars present,
Ben’s 993RS wears the
Clubsport aero package.
The hardcore BBS split rims
are unbeatable for that
race look
Axel Rohr as part of a two-car assault on the German
Carrera Cup in 1996. Beyond that, it enjoyed a colourful
racing career, culminating in an entry to the
Nürburgring 24-Hour race in 2006 before a bare metal
restoration was commenced that led to the
immaculate condition this car is in today. In fact, so
fastidious is the work that there’s even a genuine
Porsche battery, and the information stickers are still
flat-out. Going ‘sort of quite fast’ is not what it likes to
do, and although you can drive it thus, the sheer
volume of noise from the transmission and the engine’s
bias towards top-end power dissuade you from this. I’m
a gear lower for every corner and straight of this little
circuit, the key being to keep the revs up high and
absolutely nail it. Even more than the other pair, this
Cup car really needs to be let loose on a proper circuit
cacophany as we pull away is wild, and the
“The
engine has a feral response to the throttle
”
on the bonnet underside and the Matter rollcage.
Without any power steering, a racing clutch and
engine, and solid – or at the very least very hard –
mountings for all things mechanical, you’d be right to
assume this car is a harsh and frenetic environment.
The cacophony as we pull away is wild, and the engine
has a feral response to the throttle: everything is taut
and straining to do what it does best, which is to go
– then it must be immense fun. And on the road?
Vic, even with your earplugs, I don’t know how you
manage...
Then again, I guess I do. For the maximum hit of
Porsche-branded adrenaline all three of these cars
deliver, any compromise seems worth it. These cars
aren’t just about a classic Porsche colour; they
illustrate a great era in Porsche’s recent history. PW
The 3.8-litre flat-six might
have all the aesthetic style
of a washing machine, but
there’s no arguing that it
can get the job done
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