Porsche 911 (964) Carrera 4 Lightweight (‘Leichtbau’)

One of just 22 produced – Exceptional delivery mileage example – Built under the supervision of Jürgen Bath
With the 911 Carrera 4 and Porsche’s motorsport resources at his beck and call, Barth set to work reducing the weight of the car while keeping its sophisticated all-wheel-drive system intact. The advanced setup underneath the 959 was as effective as it was complex. Porsche sought to transfer it into the 911, which would help justify the considerable expense that went into developing it and testing it in the Paris-Dakar rally. The Carrera 4 Lightweight was equipped with the mechanically adjustable drivetrain from the Type 953, which featured in the first 959 Paris-Dakar rally cars, before they switched to an electronically controlled setup. The differentials were manually adjustable using the rotary controls, while two temperature gauges monitored the individual differentials.

For the Lightweight, Porsche did more than simply replace body panels with aluminum and fiberglass and delete sound insulation and carpeting. The car was race-ready with a seam-welded tub and fixed windows with sliding panels. A fixed rear spoiler took the place of the standard unit that rotated upward at speed. The stock seats were jettisoned in favor of Recaro race buckets from the 964 Cup cars with factory five-point harnesses, and a Halcon fire-suppression system was fitted. The interior marries race car functionality with production 964, thanks to its integrated roll cage, auxiliary gauges and switches mounted where the radio and climate controls would be, and black fabric-covered sports seats.

Underneath, the suspension was lowered about an inch, and the standard wheels were shelved in favor of staggered 6-inch front and 8-inch rear wheels, or optional 7- and 9-inch wheels, as featured on this car. Power came from a version of the Carrera RS’s 3.6-liter flat-six with a modified exhaust and lack of air cleaner. A special clutch and flywheels were mated to the car’s five-speed manual transmission. Overall, this C4L weighed in at a svelte 1,098 kg (2,420 lb).
All 22 said to have been built followed the same 964 0## sequence, and the car offered here is the last 22th serialized example.