Porsche’s 901 served for so very long that it’s not a shock to find an earlier edition mimicking a later model’s duds. Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe 1977 911 is just such a clone, but will its price have you saying play it again, Sam?
In his forward to Paul Frére’s encyclopedic The 911 Story, Dr. Ferry Porsche says “Back in 1948 when we built the first car bearing the Porsche name, none of us could imagine that it would have hundreds of successors.”
In fact, that first Porsche, the 356, and its inheritor the 911 have lived decades long lives over the course of which both have seen special models spun off like children. Children with junk in the trunk.
One of those models was the RS America, a special edition introduced in 1993 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the RS model which was never available in America, hence the unimaginative but highly descriptive name. It was intended as a lower weight, no frills edition of the 911.
What did Porsche do in their attempt to heed Sir Colin Chapman’s advice and add lightness to the 911? Well, on the inside the armrests on the doors were given the heave-ho, and the sport seats were covered in fabric as standard. Additional efforts to keep the pounds off were taken by culling the 911’s extensive options list down to just 4 choices for the RSA - A limited slip diff, stereo cassette player, A/C and an electric sunroof.
All the RS Americas rode on the suspension package from the C2 911 Turbo, albeit with inch narrower (8 instead of 9) rear alloys. Those alloys by the way were Mille Miglia Cup I five-spokes.
Porsche built 701 RSAs in 1993, and today’s red whale tail assed car - while seeming at first glance to be - isn’t one of those. No, instead, this 1977 911 is an RSA clone. The ad states that in 1993 a drug inventor from Eli Lilly bought this ’77 car and then proceeded to spend $69,919.44 on bringing the car up to 964 RSA appearance.
I really want to know what the forty four cents bought.
Is this now an exact clone of a real RSA? Oh hell no. For the most part it does look the part, featuring the 964 bumpers and RSA whale tail (the RSA was the only 964 model to receive the fixed rear wing) as well as that model’s hockey stick sill extenders.
What it lacks are the RSA’s aero-shaped wing mirrors and the rear car’s wheels. This one rides on a set of blackout Fuchs which while very nice aren’t appropriate for the RSA, and in fact are an inch too wide in the back.
The interior is more ’77 911 than RSA, having both full door trim and leather wrapped seats. There’s probably a myriad of other differences that a Porsche aficionado could point out, so check out the video and see how good you are.
It at least sounds pretty mean, and overall the car appears to be in really nice shape. Still it’s not quite what it purports to wanting to be, while still being pretty far gone from what it was when it came out of Zuffenhausen. The question is, would its current status as a crazy mixed up kid make its $14,600 price tag seem a bargain?
What do you think, is this 1977 Porsche 911 modded to look (pretty much) like a ’93 RS America worth $14,600? Or, is this a clone you wouldn’t throw a bone?
You decide!
Orange County Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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