http://www.messinaclassics.de/listings/1993-porsche-968-turbo-rs/
That the rarest Porsche RS of them all is not a 911 but one of the marque’s transaxle models might surprise you and to add to that its original home was South Africa.
The fact that a 968 Turbo RS, has just emerged for sale in the Classic Driver Market with Messina Classics in Germany, is one of just four produced and the sole road-registered example will no doubt be music to collectors’ ears.( http://www.messinaclassics.de/listings/1993-porsche-968-turbo-rs/ )
The 968 Turbo RS was conceived to compete in a new GT racing category born from the ashes of Group C in the early 1990s. The road-going 968 Turbo S, of which 14 were built, served to homologate the RS model, which was stripped of even more weight and received a full roll cage, a fire extinguisher system, an endurance fuel tank and myriad tweaks to the blown four-cylinder engine, raising power to a healthy 330HP.
Porsche 968
1992, the year of the 968’s launch, coincided with a strong downturn in 911 sales, and with the 968 planned only as a short-term model, Porsche needed a sales injection. Unfortunately, the 968 would not prove to be the company’s savior.
The whole 968 Turbo S and Turbo RS project was an expensive one for Porsche, as just seventeen of the former and only three of the latter were produced by the factory.
Porsche 968 Turbo S 1994
To homologate the Turbo RS, Porsche introduced the 968 Turbo S during early 1993. The 968 Turbo S was built in six different colors: Speed Yellow, Grand Prix White, Midnight Blue, Silver, Blood Orange, and Guards Red. Only one interior color was offered: black. In total 14 examples were built 10 cars in 1993 and four in 1994, all of which were left-hand drive.
1993 Porsche 968 Club Sport
The 968 Turbo S was largely based on the 968 Club Sport. The main differences between them were a revised front bumper, two NACA ducts on the bonnet, an adjustable rear wing and three piece Speedline wheels. Additionally, the suspension was dropped by (20 mm) and Porsche managed to strip away (20 kg) of unnecessary weight.
Porsche 964RS
All these modifications meant that the Porsche 968 Turbo S could actually out-perform the 911 Carrera 3.8 RSR models from the same time period.
Porsche 964 Turbo RS
Porsche developed the 968 Turbo RS for private customer teams who intended to participate in the newly defined GT class in 1993 that replaced the outgoing Group C class. Two different versions of the Turbo RS were produced, the first was the ADAC GT Cup model which developed a mandated 337bhp and was fitted with an air intake restrictor. The other version was the endurance model which produced 350bhp and was fitted with a larger fuel tank and fast-acting refueling valves, as well as air jacks. The 1200kg endurance version was eligible for the Le Mans 24-Hour race and other international events.
Porsche 968 RS Turbo at Le Mans
One car raced at Le Mans in 1994 but was forced to retire, the two others built for the ADAC GT series also saw track action but never quite had the chance to deliver on the expectation suggested by the specifications.
The fourth car and one you see here is one of the two originally converted from S spec, the only one built to be road legal and the most powerful by far.
Modifications requested by the original South African buyer including a manually operated water spray to cool the intercooler, additional bonnet venting, a larger rear wing and a wind deflector to shield the wipers as well as improve airflow over the front of the car. Interestingly these and other aero parts were originally developed in collaboration with Porsche tuner Tech Art before being formally homologated for street use.
Additional aero parts to be sold with the car and supplied to the original owner to adjust downforce according to requirements come with the sale as well as more parts to reduce weight , the pop-up lights were also removed (and kept) with the driving lamps converted into proper headlights. Further evidence, that this is a racing car first and road car second.
http://www.messinaclassics.de/listings/1993-porsche-968-turbo-rs/