Model History
964 RS

The 964-based Carrera RS was unveiled in 1991 as a limited-production, lightweight high- performance version of the Carrera 2 production car. Porsche produced a total of 2,276 examples of the 964 RS; 1,910 of those were the standard stripped out version with bucket seats and thin carpet. These were officially known as the “Basic” specification, but also sometimes referred to as the RS Lightweight. It was designed to be a highly sporting responsive street or track car with no luxury options available.

There were also 290 N/GTs officially known as the “Sport” specification, or also referred to as Clubsport models. These were effectively road registered versions of the current 1992 model Carrera 2 Cup car, with some minor changes like standard RS Basic suspension and engine mounts. The Clubsport, or N/GT versions could be entered into the N/GT class of race championships without any further preparation to the car. They were delivered complete with FIA certified full welded roll cages, twin fire extinguishers, harness belts and nomex racing seats. 20 of the N/GT Clubsport cars were a special limited edition delivered to the Japan market as C08 cars. These are easily distinguished from the other N/GTs because the roll cages were fully covered in hand stitched leather, carpet was fitted to the car (rather badly), and interestingly all 20 were delivered in unique colours from each other. No 2 cars from this special limited run of 20 cars were delivered in the same colour.

Finally another 76 were produced in what was officially known as “Touring” specification, which included the deep bolstered turbo sport seats, but trimmed in triple coloured leather unique to the RS Touring models. The Touring specification also included the normal full Carrera 2 interior (minus rear seats), sound deadening, and luxury options were available like aircon, sunroof and power windows. This allowed someone to specify an RS which was more suitable for everyday road use.

All RS models were fitted with the same blue printed M64/03 air-cooled, dry-sump horizontally opposed SOHC six-cylinder engine, which was modified to produce 260 hp at 6,100 rpm with 240 foot-pounds of torque at 5,000 rpm. This engine incorporated carefully matched pistons and cylinders, Bosch electronic engine management, and sequential fuel injection. Power was delivered via a single-mass lightweight flywheel to a G50/10 five-speed gearbox with steel synchroniser rings, altered shift sleeves, and taller first and second gears. A ZF asymmetrical limited-slip differential delivered 20 percent lockup under load and 100 percent lockup under braking.

The suspension offered a much lower ride, reduced by 40mm, with a much stiffer spring and damper setup than a standard Carrera 2. Front and rear suspension top mounts were all rose jointed for much more direct control, and adjustable anti-roll bars were fitted front and rear with 5 settings on the front and 3 settings on the rear.

The 964’s hydraulic assisted steering was replaced with a manual rack (although UK RHD models and Touring spec cars retained it). Niceties such as air conditioning, power-adjustable seats, cruise control, an entertainment system, and sound deadening and insulation were all deleted from the basic standard specification in order to reduce the weight as much as possible. The rear seats were removed, replaced with lightweight carpeting. Some key chassis seams were fully welded, and the 964’s steel front boot lid was replaced with aluminium, and thinner glass was used for all side and rear windows.