1973 Porsche Carrera RS 2.7-Litre Coupé

• Delivered new in Germany
• Known ownership history
• Present ownership since 2019
• Converted from 'Touring' to 'Lightweight' specification
• Engine rebuilt circa 20,000km ago
• Extensive History file available

First registered on the 26th June 1973, chassis number '1428' was ordered new as an M472 Touring model, with the following factory specification: Country (116) – West Germany, Colour Code (222512) – Grand Prix White w. Red, Conversion – M472 (Touring), Option (102) – Heated Rear Window, Two-Stage Tinted, Option (409) – Sports Seats Left & Right, Option (419) – Retractable Rear Belts Left & Right, Option (458) – Round Iodine Fog Lights, White, Below Bumper)

The car's first registered owner is recorded in the original logbook (still with the car today) as Sitzmann und Heinlein, a German plastics manufacturer based in Zirndorf. Interestingly, this company still exists today as Heinlein Plastik-Technik. It is not known which member of the Heinlein family the car was ordered for. The service documentation records 10 services between July 1973 at 359km and June 1981 at 91,062km, the first eight with Autohaus Herbst in Nümberg and the last two with GeorgBreitschwerto, Ansbach. It is interesting to note that the change in Service Centres from Nümberg to Ansbach in 1978 perfectly coincides with Sitzmann und Heinlein's relocation in that same year.

Having clocked up the best part of 100,000km, the Heinlein family sold '1428' to a fellow Ansbach resident, Mr Uwe Ott in June 1984. Mr Ott commissioned a full engine rebuild the following year at Manfred Krämer Porsche in Bad Wurzach, Germany. In December 1988 Mr Ott sold '1428' to Mr Wolfgang Liedtke of Speyer, Germany, who would go on to register the car in the UK the following month as 'UMC 209L'. Shortly thereafter the Porsche was sold to its fourth owner, Mrs Glenda Hydleman of Earls Court, London,by which time some 10,000km had been covered since the engine rebuild at Krämer.

Mrs Hydleman wasted no time in commissioning further restoration works at Camtune in Surrey and Streber in Devon, including a brake system overhaul; bare-metal respray; and an engine strip down, clean and reassembly. With the car now looking and driving well, Mrs Hydleman would enjoy '1428' for the next 18 months before selling it to Christopher Banks in Bristol. Mr Banks would keep the car for the next six years, covering fewer than 5,000km in that time. The next chapter of the car's life would begin in 1996, when it was purchased by a German baron via Autofarm in Oxfordshire. Included in the purchase negotiation was an extensive list of recommissioning and restoration works, as well as a conversion from 'Touring' to 'Lightweight' specification, including: Glassfibre bumpers, Period-correct lightweight seats, Lightweight carpets and trim, Lightweight door cards, Lightweight spare wheel, MoMo steering wheel, Safety harnesses
Red to Blue 'Carrera' decals.

Following the restoration works at Autofarm, the Porsche was registered with the FIA and then taken back to Germany, where it also received a Deuvet vehicle passport. The first major event the car took part in was the 1997 Tour Auto, driven by the owner and his wife. Over the next seven years, the owner continued to enjoy the car, taking it on regular tours and events with his friends and family.
Then in 2004, in preparation for yet another Tour Auto - the car's second entry, and the owner's seventh - it was entrusted to Hans Hellmick, Wuppertal, for a full engine rebuild. The list of works carried out is comprehensive, but some notable items are a new crankcase (the original crankcase was replaced with crankcase numbered 6631395) new pistons and cylinders; and an increase in compression ratio from 8.5:1 to 9.0:1. The car again performed beautifully, and was even driven around Spa by none other than Derek Bell! Over the next 15 years, the Carrera remained in Germany as part of the owner's large collection, being regularly used and properly maintained.
The current owner acquired the Porsche in 2019 at an indicated 45,000km (around 20,000km since '04 engine rebuild). Again, the car has been regularly used and well maintained, and now shows just over 50,000km on the odometer. Since its acquisition, Jtek Auto has performed a full dry-ice clean of the underside and engine bay, so the car now presents beautifully. A digital copy of the history file is available on request.

According to our vendor, this is the perfect car for someone who actually wants use it. Reportedly, it drives superbly, and the twin-pipe exhaust sounds absolutely phenomenal. The steering feel is said to be unparalleled, and the performance genuinely impressive, even by today's standards. The 2.7 Carrera RS is widely accepted as being not only one of the most significant cars launched by Porsche but, more broadly, one of the greatest sports cars of all time