Porsche 911 SC/RS – Inventory Story

Cam Ingram

7 years ago

The unassuming 911RS with true Motorsports pedigree:

Back in February, the Porsche Museum launched a YouTube video that covered the top five rarest factory models ever produced. In the video, Dieter Landenberger, manager of Porsche’s historical archives establishes the usual suspects of rare and limited production street legal models from Stuttgart. Towards the end of the video, Mr. Landenberger proceeds to pull the cover off of a very unassuming white 911 that looks much like a Porsche turbo, at first glance. In somewhat dramatic fashion, the first limited production 911 specifically built for Rally Sport is introduced to the world as the second rarest factory model in the eyes of experts at Porsche AG.

This video has been viewed 782,905 times to date, yet the SC/RS has just recently popped into the conscious awareness of rarefied Porsche models over the last few years. Some of this recognition can be attributed to coverage in European Porsche magazines that inherently embrace rally sport and the SC/RS’s successful association with legendary Rothmans sponsorship. Another part can be associated to the recent popularity of the Safari Rally 911 builds that we see on social media being driven with no constraints in every imaginable off and on road scenario. And lastly, as more top tier Porsche collectors try to assemble complete 911 RS model collections, the SC/RS stands alone as the rarest Rennsport derivative apart from the original 911R. As such, we will take a closer look at this rare RS model with two examples that have lived completely different lives and have came through our sales department.

A true homologation special:

In 1984, the Porsche Motorsports department in Weissach built 20 examples of the SC/RS to satisfy the FIA’s Group B competition homologation rules.The SC/RS borrowed freely from the 911 RS/RSR lightweight construction methods from a decade earlier. Typical deletion of standard street parts and the addition of factory lightweight items helped produce an 911 with a curb weight of 2160 Ibs. That is approximately 1,000 pounds lighter than the 911SC street car at a price of $72,000 in 1984. Due to the extreme lightweight nature of the SC/RS, the 290 hp engine propelled the 911 to a record 0-60 time of 4.0 seconds, as tested in 1984 by Automotor magazine in Germany. Impressive facts and numbers no matter which generation of Porsche is up for debate.

An exercise in power to weight ratio:

In true Rennsport deletion style, the SC/RS was an extreme example of a weight loss program.

Deletions included:

Rear seats
Power window system
Radio, speakers and SC heating system
Hood springs and brackets
Clock
Heat exchangers
Glove box door
Door pockets

FIA “Gruppe B” Porsche rally substitution SCRS parts:

Lightweight body shell
Aluminum hood, rear engine deck lid, door panels, and front hood prop.
Aluminum six point “Matter” safety roll cage with removable door bars.
Type 935 Recaro Racing seats
“Glaverbal” lightweight glass
Fibreglass/Kevlar front and rear bumpers
Front aluminum skid plate (bolt on)
Rear aluminum skid plate (bolt on)
Full belly pan
Fabricated aluminum gas heater protective cover
Factory 3 point rally seat belt passenger side, 5 point racing belts on driver’s side
FIA rear wheel gravel guards
Factory front tower strut brace
80 liter fuel tank with mini-spare inclusion
917/930 turbo derived brakes

RSR type hand fabricated exhaust system
7 & 8′ Alloy Fuchs road wheels
Adjustable Bilstein struts plue coil-overs
Front brake cold air system
Hydraulic hand brake system with control valve
Eberspacher gasoline heater
180 MPH (300 km/hr) speedometer
External & internal “battery off” master switches
Pair of “Oscar” hood- mounted rally lights (optional)
Turbo 930 rear wing
Heavy duty torsion and anti-sway bars
3.0 liter 290 hp engine with 10.3:1 compression with Bosh/Kugelfisher mechanical injection and dry-sump lubrication
Engine oil cooler system
Custom rally air cleaner system with central port conical filter housing
915/71 Transaxle with cooler, RSR clutch, close ratio gears and 40% limited slip deferential

The Matsuda Collection SC/RS VIN# 018

VIN #018 is one of the last SC/RS’s to leave the Porsche factory in 1984. It was sold to Japanese industrialist, Yoshiho Matsuda, and put on display in the “Porsche Museum of Japan: Matsuda Collection”. It was never rallied and was displayed among seventy other Porsche’s for about fifteen years. It was occasionally exercised on a close circuit track in order to keep the mechanical systems in healthy order. Since then, it has been featured in four different international Porsche Collections. As it sits, #018 currently has covered 1,700 kilometers and is one of three most original examples left in the world.

Rothmans team car SC/RS VIN# 008

Only six SC/RS 911’s had the back door factory support of Porsche and the checkbook that only Rothmans could provide in order to be competitive on the world stage, all under the direction of Sir David Richards and his Prodrive team. Prodrive manufactured many of their own Bespoke parts for the SC/RS and also added chassis reinforcement bracing to each chassis. Chassis #008 is known as a survivor and remains in its original, un-restored condition. It is equipped with an original Rothmans/Richards Porsche engine #63E09004 – the engine that Toivonen used in this car to win at Ypres, Belgium.

This particular SC/RS, ran 13 international rallies for the Rothmans Porsche team. It won five of those out right (full competition record is below.) With endurance and rally veterans – such as Henri Toivonen, Juha Kankkunen, and Saeed Al Hajiri – at the wheel, this particular car became the one all the others chased. As Jurgen Barth described the driving experience, he explained, “The RS proved to be very controllable even at the handling limit. With coordinated throttle and steering, it could be driven on a very tight line, without resorting to such spectacular drift angles as its indirect predecessors. The potential of this sports car could best be experienced on closed roads – and that, after all, was its intended purpose.”

The 20 SC/RS cars rival the 1967/68 Typ 911R in rarity and mystique. Chassis #008 and #018 have lived divergent lives, but stand as testaments of pure design and Motorsports execution.

In the end, the SC/RS represents the most custom built RS derivative ever built by Porsche. Is it as well known as some of the other 911 RS iconic derivatives, like the 1973 Porsche 2.7 RS or 2012 GT3 RS 4.0? No, it is not. But will it always be one of the most special 911’s ever built by Porsche, most certainly.

SC/RS VIN# 0018 Competition history:

April 1984:                Circuit of Ireland Rally, Ireland. Henri Toivonen, DNF.
June 1984:                 Ypres 24-Hour Rally, Belgium. Toivonen again, first overall.
August 1984:             Madeira Rally, Portugal. Toivonen again, first overall.
September 1984:      Manx International Rally, Great Britain. Juha Kankkunen, DNF.
April 1985:                Cyprus Rally. Saeed Al Hajiri, DNF.
July 1985:                  Jordan Rally. Al Hajiri again, first overall.
June 1986:                 Acropolis Rally, Greece. Al Hajiri again, fourth overall.
July 1986:                  1000 Pistes rally, France. Al Hajiri again, DNF.
August 1986:             Limburgia Rally, Netherlands. Al Hajiri again, third overall.
December 1986:       Dubai Rally. Al Hajiri again, DNF
February 1987:         Qatar International Rally. Al Hajiri again, first overall.
March 1987:              Kuwait Rally. Al Hajiri again, first overall.
April 1987:                Jordan Rally. Al Hajiri again, second overall.

Oman Rally/Middle East Championship Saeed Al Hajri 2nd
Dubai Rally/Middle East Championship Saeed Al Hajri retired