George Stevens' 1992 964 RS

 

So what is a Carrera 2 RS? The RS was a road going evolution of the 964 Cup cars developed in the early 1990’s for Porsche’s one make racing series. The road going RS was introduced in three versions, the basic sports model, a more luxurious touring version, and a highly desirable stripped out club sport model which came as standard with a welded in roll cage but without interior trim. Mine is a German supplied basic sports model.
Priced at nearly £9000 more than a regular Carrera 2, this was no cosmetic marketing exercise. Specification included,
Popular factory options were a bolted-in Matter roll cage, full harnesses and a floor mounted hand-held fire extinguisher.
Weight was shaved down to just over 1200 kgs by the removal of most of the non-essential electrical components. Weight saving measures included;
Performance was 260bhp at 6100rpm and 325Nm at 4800rpm. A total of 2,051 cars were built. Unlike the 1988 Carrera Club Sport, which was a slightly half-hearted affair, this was hailed as a worthy successor to the 73 RS.

 

I bought it "as seen" from Oxfordshire specialists Autofarm. www.autofarm.co.uk Although very sound, the car had clearly been neglected and led a tough life, luckily the low asking price reflected this. I like cars that need "sorting" and enjoyed improving my previous 911. My standards are high, I like originality, and if you improve the car yourself you know it will be right. On first impression the RS did not look too bad, at least it was pretty much standard and unmodified. However the clutch was awful with lots of play in the pedal, within a week it was impossible to get it into gear so the first job was a complete clutch assembly and flywheel (thank goodness it’s not a dual mass flywheel like a regular 964).

Previous owners all seemed to like to add their own brand of "expertise" to what is already a superb package in standard form. In the quest for better on-track handling someone had lowered the car and set it up with far too much negative camber. Really it needed leaving alone (Porsche knew what they were doing) Although the service history shows that at sometime a so-called performance chip has been fitted, throttle response was poor and clearly the engine was not delivering anywhere near it’s full potential.

I decided to use JZ Machtech www.jzmachtech.com in Kings Langley to set up the suspension properly (with new Bridgstone SO2 tyres all round) and return it to it’s original factory settings. As they have a rolling road I decided to have one of their de-cat conversions with means removing the catalytic converter and lambda probe (only legal if the car is pre 1993). They then mildly re-chip the ECU. Horsepower gains vary from car to car.

The news was not good, only 231 bhp instead of 260 and the suspension had been lowered so much two of the expensive Bilstien dampers had been destroyed. The lack of horsepower was due to a blocked cat, which was discarded anyway, a pressure test showed that the engine despite over 100,000 kms was in excellent health. A 24,000-mile service and re-chip produced a more than healthy 270 bhp and a full suspension re-build and alignment returned to the car to it’s correct ride height.

JZ Machtech did an excellent job; it now been completely transformed and drives probably as good, if not better than when it left the factory. The power delivery is fantastic, really smooth and torquey but with a real Jekyl & Hyde character. Over 4,000 rpm it’s absolutely explosive in every gear. The brakes are quite amazing and seem capable of extracting eyeballs and dentures! As it now has some proper suspension the ride is almost civilised on A roads, however B roads still need to be avoided!! Needless to say the handling is superb, why people mess about with camber and ride adjustment is beyond me.

The documentation shows that my car was supplied from the factory with a full roll cage which was removed a couple of years ago. The lightweight interior was very tired with holes in the carpets and blanking plates everywhere. Porsche interior trimming specialists Southbound had the car for a week to re-carpet, generally tidy the interior and re-paint the scratched fibreglass seat backs. They also managed to source, at a very good price, an original violet leather (yes violet!!!) seat swab for the drivers seat. The original was marked (probably by the buckle for the racing harnesses) and has seen better days. Southbound did a first-class job and the interior now looks as if it has just left the factory.

Unfortunately the rare and very expensive magnesium cup rims had been replaced at some time with 17" 993 wheels. The best price for a new set was £2000! However a "wanted" advert in this very magazine yielded a positive response and my car is now wearing a nice clean set of correct wheels. An option I did consider was to fit the optional Speedline 18" split-rims, after much discussion and contemplation I have decided to stay with the original 17" wheels. The handling is so good I don’t feel a reduction in tyre profile will benefit the car and to fit wider front tyres could spoil the excellent steering feel.

Although it looks original and not bad for 9 years old, the last job on my list is to give the paintwork some attention. The front bumper and boot lid are very chipped, the paintwork is scratched and dull (I think the previous owner used to put the car through a car wash!). however now the car is so mechanically sorted, which was always the main priority, this can all wait until next spring.

My plan was always to book a track day once the car was back to full health. I arranged a Saturday in November and enjoyed a gorgeous sunny winter’s day at Goodwood. This is probably not the best circuit for someone like me with such limited track experience as it is very fast with no gravel traps, just grass, but I was sensible, enjoyed the car within my own limits and was overwhelmed by the RS’s ability on a circuit. It certainly flattered my limited skills! I decided to call it a day after a poor 968 club-sport owner hit a tyre wall causing some pretty terminal looking damage to his previously immaculate car, it reminded me that not all track days end up putting a smile on your face.

So what is a 964 RS like to live with everyday. Well after nearly 3000 miles in three months actually much better than you would think. Although very basic, creature comforts include an excellent, easy to use and effective heating system, a loud Kenwood CD player, and as I use the car regularly for work I have installed a proper car kit for my mobile phone. All passengers love the leather lightweight Recaro racing seats, which although are fixed, are the most comfortable I have ever experienced.

The are some irritants though. In the quest for lightness Porsche installed a rear window with a heater element but omitted all the associated wiring. Now the evenings are getting darker the omission of any interior lights is a nuisance. Left-hand drive, although much easier than I anticipated, can be a pain in car parks. The other big problem is insurance, no garage or driveway, unlimited annual mileage and business use doesn’t come cheap!!

Back in 1992 opinion was divided on the Carrera 2 RS, some journalists thought Porsche should never have released such a harsh uncompromising car for the road, others hailed it as Porsche’s finest creation since the 1973 Carrera RS. I fall into the latter camp and as you can probably tell I am now completely hooked. Previous owners say that the worst thing you can possibly do with a Carrera 2 RS is to sell it!!!! george.stevens@bbg.co.uk