This could be one of the rarest road going Porsche’s...ever. 1 of only 200 in the world. Of all the 1580 Carrera RS 2.7s made only 200 of those were designated to be fitted with the ‘Lightweight’ (M471) sport trim. This is one of the 200 in the world, 1973 Porsche Carrera RS 2.7L ‘Lightweight’ cars. This car in every way shape and form was truly designed to be a road-going race car, and we’ll tell you why. There was predominantly two variants of the 2.7L Carrera RS, ‘Touring’ and ‘Lightweight’, although Porsche did produce two further models including the RSH homologation special and the RSR race car. As we said before, 1580 total examples of the Carrera RS cars were completed before 1973, but a majority of those received the ‘Touring’ specification (1,308 Touring models), whereas only 200 were assigned the ‘Lightweight’ option. So what exactly is the difference? The ‘Lightweight’ variant was hundreds of pounds lighter than the ‘Touring’ model, weighing just under 2,000 pounds (1,984lbs). Porsche achieved this by having no rear folding seats, no radio, no power windows, no sound insulation, and the list goes on. The Lightweight cars also dropped the fancy chrome strip along the length of the sill, and the rear opening windows. The Lightweight features an air-cooled flat six that’s capable of producing 210bhp at 6,300rpm. The claimed 0-60 time for the Lightweight cars is 5.6 seconds with a estimated top speed of around 150mph. Porsche even went as far as removing the Porsche crest from the bonnets of the ‘Lightweight’ cars and replacing it with a weightless sticker in the first series of cars produced. They really wanted to make this car as light as possible, in every place possible.
How many made? This car is 1 of only 200 made for the entire world!
Engine: 2,687 cc, air-cooled horizontally flat six that produces 210bhp @ 6,300rpm
Debut: October and 1972 at the Paris Auto Salon.
Top Speed: 150mph (estimated)
0-60mph: 5.6 seconds (estimated)
Photo credit: @am_media_ny
Research: @rarecarsonly