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"Never meet your heroes" murmured Mechthild in his beard when getting out of this his hero with a slightly distorted smile and handed me the keys. Hey what does that guy want? When his protagonist, who has appeared so often in my wildest automobile dreams, filled the covers of the relevant magazines and fought for fame and honor on the racetracks of the world, the Hessebub was just in his early automotive discovery phase, or to put it another way: 6 Years. That was in 1992. I had long been on the road from Wolfsburg with 90 hp. Generation Golf. And our common hero? That is none other than the Porsche 964 Carrera RS!
Yes, yes - I hear the readers etch - on Porsche everyone stands anyway. That may be true, but Fabian and I don't rave about any 911. It's about the material moisture meter shows you the RS! Number of pieces: just 2.279 units. All of them built and rolled off the assembly line in Zuffenhausen in exactly the same year that Nigel Mansell became Formula 1 World Champion and the Golf III Car of the Year. RS, then as now, was synonymous with the scalpel among boxer knives. The interesting thing about it: From the outside, the differences to a bread and butter 964 Carrera 2 were barely visible. Even the so-called cup mirrors were not a unique selling point, because from model year 92 onwards, the aerodynamically shaped rearview mirrors replaced the rectangular housings in all 11 series versions that had been built up until then. Most noticeable were only the magnesium wheels, which at that time had a lush 17 "diameter, which huddled in the wheelhouses. That and 4cm lowering give the RS exactly the right stance even by today's standards. But on and under the inconspicuous shell of the narrow Carrera body, the Zuffenhausen-based company skillfully sharpened this 11 series.
“Everyone likes Porsche anyway” - but not the 964 RS
Lightweight construction was taken seriously in Stuttgart over 25 years ago and so the RS got by with thin glass side and rear windows and had a feather-light aluminum trunk lid that was not lifted up by an overweight gas shock absorber, but was manually hooked into a support rod had to become. The insulation was also significantly reduced in the everyday M001 variant with carpet (we are not talking about the 76 “Touring” models M002 with electric seats and without tightening loops) and the underbody protection was simply omitted, which meant that the rust perforation guarantee was without replacement omitted. In addition, a single-mass flywheel allows the air-cooled screeching iron in the rear to be sawed open immediately when downshifting between gases, in order to bring the transmission shafts into line more quickly. Uniball dome bearings on the front axle in combination with a famously direct and natural not Servo-assisted steering for fantastic precision and feedback from the front axle and, to match, rigid engine and gearbox bearings are also installed. Nobody should say that they wanted to hide the origin of the 1990 Cup model introduced in 964.
And how does it feel when Fabian drops the keys to a warm 964 Carrera RS in your hand? Honestly? When someone who has seen the cup winners Olaf Manthey (1990), Roland Asch (1991) and Uwe Alzen (1992) fight live on the gene donors in Zolder, Hockenheim, Singen or Nürburg, the little pimples of goosebumps start to sprout. when the delicate key with the typical coat of arms lands in the palm of your hand. The subsequent look at the car that fits the key puts me completely in ecstasy! In front of me is a cracking and ticking RS “carpet model” in the best color of all: star ruby! The corresponding seat surface of the seat shells is covered with leather in three different shades of color, and both the straps and the closing loops shine in: star ruby. If it weren't for RS, it would be ridiculed as a sin of the 90s. But this RS has to be like this, as Dieter Landenberger, the head of the historical archive at Porsche, knows too, because he has entrusted us with this almost virgin 964. Awe and gratitude flow through me alternately and small tears of joy form in my eyes.
Manthey, Asch and Alzen - they were all winners of the 964 Cup
There are just 25.004 kilometers on the clock when I put the key in the ignition to the left of the steering column. Turned briefly, the 260 hp roar instantly, only to then immediately fall into a boxy idle, completely relaxed, as the 11,5 liters of oil already have the necessary working temperature. Let's go. The left foot feels the clutch and yes, these are standing pedals and yes, they want to be stepped with a lot of force. So there it is, the distant relationship to the Beetle, which can also be recognized by the round switches below the central air outlet and which is how it works. But now: in gear, let the clutch come on and: zack, stalled. Oh how embarrassing and that in the courtyard of the hallowed halls somewhere in Stuttgart, where the corporate silver is stored inconspicuously. The next attempt succeeds and I carefully roll towards public traffic. The two of us from Stuttgart are slowly becoming one unit and I'm even gradually suppressing the fact that I'm moving in a vehicle that can hardly be found today for less than 1303 euros. The initial goosebumps are followed by cheers: Yes, I drive the hero of my youth. I drive a Porsche 250.000 Carrera RS. The 964 liter engine revs up electrifying. Every position of the accelerator pedal is immediately converted into propulsion and even on the autobahn one likes to bang towards the horizon at well over 3,6 km / h. Of course, the steering wheel needs to be held firmly and when braking, the 200 not only requires a firm step, but also a strong hand. But I'm not here to scare off hunted salespeople, no, I want curves and I feel: the RS wants it too. So get off the train and onto the little winding streets somewhere in the Löwenstein mountains. Here the 964 kg 1.220 shows me what the intention of its developers was back then, because the harder I put it on, the closer I shift to the engine speed limit of 6.800 rpm, the better it works. It's like a puzzle in which all the pieces fit together perfectly without wobbling and it's an intoxicating feast for the senses. The rear pushes, the front axle grips, the boxer roars, the 325 Newton meters push forward.
The 911 R. The reincarnation of the 911 Carera RS
But why did Mechthild mumble "Never meet your heroes" at the beginning? Well, this is where the brutality of progress strikes relentlessly, because in itself the driving experience “Porsche 964 Carrera RS” is a fascinating one, but in comparison to 2017 it is sobering. A Golf GTI Clubsport The latest design follows a similar approach, has roughly the same performance and - as bitter as that sounds - can do everything better. And is that supposed to be the abrupt conclusion of this encounter that is certainly unique for me? Certainly not, because the VW mentioned has not yet made it onto my bucket list and as described above, the star ruby was not a single meter disappointment on the 110 km driven. But since last year there has been another Porsche on this list that seems to me like the reincarnation of the 1992 RS: the 911 R. But that's another story that may also be soon to be read here.
At this point again a big thank you to the Porsche Museum and to Fabian Mechtelwho made this unforgettable experience possible. Along with Johannes Schlörb The result was also a beautiful piece of moving image on the subject: