PROVENANCE
Team RECO, Germany (acquired new in July 1973)
Dr. Siegfried “Siggi” Brunn, Eberbach, Germany (acquired in 1987)
Albert Obrist, Geneva, Switzerland (acquired circa 1989)
Current Owner (acquired circa 2005)

RACE HISTORY
DRM Nürburgring Eifelrennen, April 1974, Uwe Reich, No. 32 (13th Overall)
750 Meilen Nürburgring, May 1974, Ulrich Reckmann/Uwe Reich (2nd Overall)
Rhein-Ruhr-Pokal Zolder, May 1974, Uwe Reich, No. 209 (1st Overall)
Eifel Rally Nürburgring, June 1974, Ulrich Reckmann (1st Overall)
DRM Wunsdorf Flugplatzrennen, June 1974, Uwe Reich, No. 152 (5th Overall)
Uniroyal 7-Stunden Nürburgring, July 1974, Ulrich Reckmann/Horst Sasse, No. 1 (1st Overall)
ACAS Bilstein Cup Nürburgring, August 1974, Ulrich Reckmann/Werner
Junkers (1st Overall)

LITERATURE
John Starkey, From R to GT2: The Racing Porsches 911 & 930, p. 188
Dr. Thomas Gruber and Dr. Georg Konradsheim, Carrera RS, pp. 197, 246

EXHIBITED
Rennsport Reunion III, Daytona International Speedway, November 2007

THIS CAR
The early 1970s marked the culmination of Porsche’s dominance in the prototype era and the start of a GT racing program based on the ever-successful 911. A decade after the 911’s debut, the public was presented a homologation special that foreshadowed a legendary line of racing Porsches – the Carrera 2.7 RS. Fitted with fared wheel arches, a distinctive ducktail spoiler, and a highly tuned flat-six engine, the brilliant Carrera 2.7 RS is the model against which all subsequent high-performance 911s are judged.

Aimed squarely at the FIA’s Group 4 category for Special Grand Touring Cars, Porsche built an all-out racing model based on the Carrera 2.7 RS, incorporating every conceivable improvement allowed by the rule book. The result was the 2.8 RSR, a thoroughbred 911 developed strictly for competition use.

Visually, the 2.8 RSR can be distinguished from a standard 2.7 RS by its massive fender flares, central oil-cooler air intake, and ultra-wide Fuchs wheels – 9" up front and 11" at the rear. At the heart of the RSR was an enlarged race engine with a 10.3:1 compression ratio, larger valves, twin-plug ignition, and lightened internal components. The RSR’s type 911/52 engine produced a reliable 300 bhp at 8,000 rpm and was coupled to a specially designed five-speed transaxle, with a limited-slip differential and an external oil cooler. To handle the car’s improved capabilities, Porsche engineers developed revised suspension settings and designed an incredibly effective braking system based on exotic 917 components.

Final assembly took place inside Work I, Porsche’s racing shop, ensuring an extremely high standard of preparation. As such, every 2.8 RSR sold to a customer was delivered in race-ready trim, complete with a roll bar, safety harness, fire suppression system, 110-liter fuel tank, and battery main switch.

This incredible performance and attention to detail came at a price. Listed at DM 25,000, the 2.8 RSR carried a substantial premium over a standard road-going 2.7 RS – nearly the difference of another 911 – and it was designated by its very own internal code, M 491. According to Dr. Thomas Gruber and Dr. Georg Konradsheim’s definitive book, Carrera RS, Porsche built just 55 examples of the original 2.8 RSR, with most examples sold to private racing teams. The model immediately proved its worth in racing, capturing wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, Targa Florio, and six of nine rounds in the 1973 European GT Championship.

The 2.8 RSR offered here, 911 360 1521, was completed in July 1973, making it one of the very last customer cars built. According to factory records, this RSR was originally finished in the extremely rare and distinctive livery of Viper Green with black Carrera script, and equipped with special gearbox ratios and Dunlop racing tires.

As documented in John Starkey’s book, From R to GT2: The Racing Porsches 911 & 930, the Viper Green RSR was delivered new to Dortmund Porsche distributor Hülpert and then sold to its first owner, Team RECO. According to Mr. Starkey, 911 360 1521 was active in German rallying and club racing throughout 1973 and 1974, during which time it was campaigned by German privateers Uwe Reich and Ulrich Reckmann at important venues such as Nürburgring, Hockenheim, and Zolder.

Little is known of this car’s racing history following the 1974 season except that, like most 2.8 RSRs, it was eventually updated to 3.0 RSR-style bodywork in an effort to remain competitive when racing against the latest competition 911 variants. The introduction of the turbocharged Porsche 934 rendered the early 2.8 RSRs obsolete, and it is believed that this car was retired from racing by the end of the 1976 season.

Dr. Siegfried “Siggi” Brunn, a successful racing driver, team owner, and proprietor of Brunn Racing in Eberbach, Germany, purchased the RSR in 1987 and had it restored in his shop after the Porsche factory refreshed the bodywork to its original 1973 configuration. Once restored to its former glory, the Viper Green 2.8 RSR joined the well-known stable of Swiss collector Albert Obrist, a gentleman who once raced a Porsche 908/3 with Brunn during the Brands Hatch Six Hours in March 1980.

After Obrist dispersed his collection of Porsche racing cars in the mid-2000s, the 2.8 RSR was sold to the current owner, in whose care it has seen minimal track use, apart from its participation at Rennsport Reunion III held at Daytona International Speedway in fall 2007.

Today, 911 360 1521 presents as a stunning example of the legendary 2.8 RSR, a model that many Porsche experts regard as the most beautiful and desirable racing 911. Distinctive as one of as few as three 2.8 RSRs originally finished in Viper Green and benefiting from a well-kept professional restoration by one of Germany’s leading marque specialists, this Carrera is an ideal candidate for a wide variety of events, from the best historic races to concours and club events. An extremely rare find – never before available at public auction – this spectacular 2.8 RSR is sure to garner attention from Porsche enthusiasts the world over.