Tribute Drive: Martin Racing Porsche 911

The original 2.1-litre RSR Martini boasted the largest wing and widest hips of any 911 when it was raced back in the early 1970s. We experience what it must have been like to drive the legendary track machine by getting behind the wheel of a local tribute car. 

Words: Wilhelm Lutjeharms 

Images: Duwyne Aspeling

It feels rather intimidating, but uniquely special and immensely exciting nonetheless. I’m ensconced in the Racetech racing seat with my legs almost parallel to the floor. I can hear every bit of road debris hitting the undercarriage of the car and I need to shout if I want to talk to my passenger, the owner of the car.

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In front of me is a plastic windscreen (a weight-saving measure), while the cabin is stripped out with only the necessary buttons and switches you associate with a race car. Above the windscreen, down the A-pillar and to my right, the silver poles of the full roll cage won’t leave anyone in doubt that this is a full-on 911 race car. 

With a quick glance in the rear-view mirror – as I won’t need it again on this drive! – I observe one of the largest wings in Porsche’s racing history. As I peer into the side view mirrors, the massive, widened rear arches and end tips of the rear wing come into view. This car fills the road with its size and presence unlike any air-cooled 911 I’ve ever driven. I need to feed in enough throttle to stop the car from stalling, but also let the racing clutch out as quickly as possible as any unnecessary slippage will damage it. 

Behind the wheel

The steering wheel conveys oodles of feedback; it goes light for only a brief moment before it stiffens up again and gives your arms a proper workout. The G50 gearbox allows for quick and direct shifts, while the long metal gear lever and gearknob (with the very industrial-looking linkage system below) contributes to the solid shift action every time I change gear. This only further contributes to solid nature of the car and ensures that you never miss a gear when shifting.  

The car is not happy when driven at anything less than full speed. There is a cacophony of mechanical sounds emanating from the drivetrain in the rear of the car, while the smallest of throttle applications prompt a blowing and hissing sound from the turbocharged system. If I briefly close my eyes, the experience is not far removed from that of the 993 GT2 Clubsport I experienced a couple of years ago. These mechanical sounds are so intense, that you also want to pull over and switch off the car, because it almost sounds as if there is no oil or lubricants in the gearbox!

As I press the throttle harder, and following a minor delay as the turbo gets up to speed, the RSR pushes us forwards and towards the next corner with a rush of a modern-day supercar, only with much more noise, feedback and excitement. Through the steering wheel it is easy to experience how the front wheels sniff out any changes in the road camber and dive into bends like only a race car can. I realise that you need all your mental focus (and rather talented feet and hands) to get the most from this car. 

Below 3 000 rpm nothing happens, but as I press on I can hear and feel how the tyres barely cope with the levels of torque, which are twisted through them as the full force of the engine presents itself with astonishing efficiency. It is a unique physiological experience; it feels as if the push is coming not only from behind you, but as if you are being pushed by something through your lower back. And, it feels as if every ounce of the power and torque is on tap… if not more. Here, on this mountain pass, this Martini RSR tribute feels like it will obliterate anything before it. Maybe it is a good thing that there are almost no other vehicles on this road. 

On a public road, rolling on wet-weather racing tyres no less, full bore acceleration upon corner exits is not on the cards, but between my time behind the ‘wheel as well as during a stint in the passenger seat while the owner, who races this car, was at the wheel, one thing became abundantly clear – this car is best-suited to the track!

History

However, this car’s origin is the same as all other 911 T production cars that left the factory in 1972. It rolled off the assembly line as a standard production car, but 45 years on it is raced on South Africa’s competition circuits.

Apart from the significant development process of this car – which we’ll get to in a minute – this 911 has been road registered every year since 1972. 

This car was already built (at great expense and with much effort) into a racing car by one of the previous owners. At the time when we drove the car, the owner had bought the RSR a few years before from a fellow 911 racer and enthusiast. Following his purchase, he did the occasional race during the course of a year, but realised that a full rebuild of the car was required.

The result was that the car underwent a near two-year restoration. It was stripped, the wiring was redone, the chassis was straightened up and the entire car was repainted. Then, the engine was taken out, stripped and rebuild, and the cooling system was upgraded, to name just a few of the alterations. The engine was originally a 3.6-litre engine from a 964 Carrera, which was turbocharged. The owner explains: “I’ve campaigned it in this state, but then rebuilt it and enlarged it to 3.8-litres. Other upgrades included race bearings, specialised camshafts, we rebuilt the turbocharger and actually made it smaller. Originally the engine was converted to a turbocharged unit in Germany. This included special heads and porting for example.

“We redesigned the entire oil-cooling system. I didn’t like the number of oil pipes and reservoirs that were scattered all over the car and they also contributed to the heat soak in the cabin. So, we took some inspiration from older Cup cars and mounted the oil tank between the engine and gearbox. The boost pressure for the turbo has been set at 0.8 bar. We also rebuilt or recommissioned every moving part, which are all from Porsche, on the car. We’ve tried to keep the RSR as original as possible. 

After the rebuild, a dyno test revealed (very) impressive outputs of 413 kW and 680 N.m. Let’s not forget, this power is delivered in a car that weighs 1 250 kg.”

“It is actually a little heavier than it should be, but you have to realise that a tremendous amount of strengthening has gone into the structure of the car.”

This is visible everywhere. Not only in the cabin, but below the bonnet there is a complete cross-strut bar, adding even more rigidity to the front of the chassis.

The owner has had previous racing experience before he bought this car. However, I can sense his pride and passion for the RSR as he explains his path of ownership and the sheer enjoyment he gets from racing it.

Equipment

The cabin is completely stripped and the only obvious modern equipment is the Motec digital screen. This small, but informative, screen displays the air temperature, fuel pressure, engine oil pressure, oil temperature, GPS speed and selected gear – pretty much all the necessary data and figures a racer would require pre-, during and post-race. The revs are indicated by digital bars running at the top of the screen. There is the compulsory “ignition cut” switch, as well as a brake bias and a turbo boost controller switches. The boost gauge is also visible while the fire extinguishing system can be activated by the pull of a lever – it is an important function when you are strapped in with a five-point harness and need to climb over so many pipes!

The NACA ducts are pure race car cues and that large rear wing is adjustable. As much as the rear wheel arches grab your attention, the same is true for those widened front arches.

It was the earlier owner who made the effort to build this race car and, in the early 2000s, started the long development process of converting his T into a race car. He started by installing lightweight parts, widening the body and the axle tracks, putting in a new floor etc. The car was mostly developed on the Zwartkops racing circuit outside Pretoria, close to Johannesburg. 

“Racing is also something I was interested in, and over the years, through my participation in a few events and with the help of the previous owner of this car, I gained more and more experience. This is not the first Porsche race car I’ve owned. Previously I’ve owned a 996 GT3 Cup car. I campaigned that for just over a year. We even did the six-hour endurance race at Phakisa Freeway in the Free State, in which we came second. When I sold that Cup car, I bought this car. Being a turbo, I like it a lot.”

It might be a bit of a novelty that it is still road registered, but long may it continue. It is, without a doubt, one of the most exhilarating 911s I’ve ever had the chance to drive on the road. This Martini RSR is a well-developed race car that pays a tribute to the original, a car that formed the foundation of so many road and race Porsches since the 1970s…

Specifications:

Model: 1972 Porsche 911 T (base car)

Engine: 3.8-litres, flat-six cylinder, turbocharged

Power: 413 kW 

Torque: 680 Nm

Transmission: G50, 5-speed manual, RWD

Suspension front: MacPherson struts, Coil springs, Sachs shocks, anti-roll bars

Rear: Swing arms, coil springs, Sachs shocks, anti-roll bars

Wheels & tyres front: 23.7x11.5-16 Hoosier

Rear: 27.0 x 14.0-16 Hoosier

Weight: 1 250 kg

0-100 km/h: <3.5 seconds (estimated)

Top Speed: >270 km/h (estimated)