1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7

#9113601177 (bezeichnet als «Sport»): M471*.

Motor-Nr.: 6631144, Getriebe-Nr: 7831143.

Produktionsdatum: April 1973.

Originalfarbe*: 2323, Blutorange

Innenausstattung*: Code 11, Kunstleder Schwarz.

Zusätzliche Ausstattungen*: 220 Sperrdifferntial (650.00)

Erstauslieferung: 115 Hahn Fellbach, Deutschland

Erstbesitzer: Leo Kinnunen

Weitere bekannte Besitzer: ?

Auktionen: wurde am 12. Mai 2018 von RM Sotheby’s in Monaco versteigert, 1’242’500 Euro.

Auktion: Broad Arrow, Monterey 2024, Schätzpreis 1’250’000 bis 1’500’000 Dollar, mit folgenden (interessanten) Informationen: «Leo Kinnunen was Formula One’s first racing driver from Finland. By the late 1960s, the young Finn was in his mid-20s and had already catapulted himself from a successful career in Finnish rallying and road-course circuits to racing a Porsche 908 in 1969. For 1970 he accepted an offer to join John Wyer’s Gulf-sponsored Porsche racing team – winning his debut race at the Daytona 24 Hours! Multiple victories followed with his illustrious co-drivers as Pedro Rodriguez, Brian Redman and the Swiss Jo Siffert, as the Gulf group ratcheted up victories at Brands Hatch, Monza, Watkins Glen and many others. In fact, Kinnunen even set a new lap record at the Targa Florio at the wheel of a 908/3 that year. While he raced countless cars, the association with Porsche was longstanding and by the early 1970s, he raced for the blue-and-white liveried Finnish AAW Racing Team as well in the Interserie Championship, behind the wheel of a 917K, winning the championship in 1971, 1972, and 1973 – three years outright!
It was during these dominant Interserie years that Kinnunen took delivery of this extraordinary 1973 Porsche Carrera RS Sport, more commonly known as a “Lightweight,” which was built in April of that year, one month before he entered the Targa Florio in a Carrera RSR, placing third overall. His street car, however, was built in advance of his participation in the 1000 Lakes Rally (now known as the Rally Finland), one of the preeminent events on the World Rally Championship, which was to take place in August and for which this car was used by Kinnunen for practice and route scouting.
The car was produced in a unique specification. It sat higher and wore mudflaps in preparation for these rallye “scouting” trips and, according to the extensive correspondence on file, the wider rear fenders were factory installed at some point in period while the large rear wing was a prototype factory design commissioned on Kinnunen’s request from the Porsche racing department. The “whale tail” made its production appearance somewhat later and, as such, this is considered one of the earliest Porsche applications of this rear wing, if not the first 911 to be fitted with a 1974-rear spoiler. In fact, according to a 2013 magazine article in which the car was presented by then-owner Juha Liukkonen, with AAW’s racing operations moving to Germany, Kinnunen was spending much more time at the Porsche factory precisely at a time when the racing department was preparing the RSR for the 1974 season. And so, being at the right place, at the right time, and with the right experience and influence from a prominent, highly successful Porsche racing driver, this street Carrera RS was rendered a particularly unique example!
Correspondence in the history file also indicates the car was fitted not only with these RSR-style wheel arches, but the 2.7-liter engine was also tuned to produce approximately 230 horsepower, as it seems Kinnunen felt a full RSR motor was too much for road use, Repa belts, and an 80 percent locking differential, which was not typically available on the street cars. While not all of these features are listed on the build sheet, correspondence and an inspection suggest this was done either at the racing department, in Weissach, or shortly thereafter. The Tangerine or Blutorange finish the car wears today is factory correct and it’s safe to assume that very few Carrera RS clients were afforded such specific, bespoke upgrades, many of them from the RSR.
Following his acquisition of the car from the JWA Gulf-Porsche Team, Kinnunen owned the car for nearly a full decade, selling it in 1982 with approximately 32,000 kilometers, before the subsequent owner added an additional 24,000 kilometers. The third owner acquired it in 2001, after which the car was featured in several magazine articles. As presented, indicated mileage sits at approximately 65,300 kilometers and the car has been driven very sparingly, residing in a prominent American collection of sports cars, in which it has received the most professional attention».