The star of RM Auctions' listings for any racing nerd was this beautiful Porsche 911 rally car. It was auctioned off on Wednesday, but not before Richard Meaden at Evo got to drive it. What's it like? It's one of the most raw driving experiences he's ever had.
The auction listing describes some of its racing upgrades:
A Scheel racing seat was installed for the driver, along with a leatherette and cloth Scheel seat with a headrest for the navigator, and competition-type lap and shoulder harness sets were added for both. The interior was otherwise quite spartan, with most trim pieces and noise-absorbing insulation removed to save weight. Rubber hold-downs ensured that the front lid would stay firmly in place. There was a much-larger-than-standard windscreen washer reservoir, and the back-light had electric heating. A special 100-litre fuel tank was also installed. The front disc brakes were upgraded with experimental callipers and non-standard pistons, whilst the rear discs remained standard. Underneath, there was a 14-millimetre front anti-roll bar and a 16-millimetre rear bar.
Barth notes that the engine was tuned to deliver about 170 horsepower, with modifications including polished intake ports, a higher compression ratio, different camshafts, Bosch mechanical fuel injection with sliding throttle bodies, platinum-tipped sparkplugs to prevent fouling at low engine speeds, a special exhaust system, a lightened flywheel, free venting of the dry-sump oil tank, a special generator, and special spark plug boots. The transmission was a standard-production Type 901 five-speed with lowered gear ratios. The clutch package included competition linings, and a ZF limited-slip differential was fitted. When completed, these rally-spec 911s scaled approximately 2,249 pounds dry.
This ex-works 1969 Porsche 911S won the Acropolis Rally and went on to do the Tour de France, 1000 KM of Paris, Rally Jeannne d'Arc, Rally Tour de Corse and Rally Criterium de Cevennes. Then it went on to run in the 24 Hours of Le Mans several times.
Meaden has the exact same reaction to any car I drive that sounds that lovely: he can't keep his foot off the loud pedal. Listen to it. Listen to that wonderful flat-six.
The rest of it? The 911 feels like a winning participant to Meaden's hoonage, not a bear that must be wrestled into submission.
Just don't lift mid-turn.