Rennsport wonders

For more than 60 years, the presence of the letters ‘RS’ on a Porsche has represented the zenith of performance for the marque. They stand for ‘rennsport’ – German for racing.

The moniker made its debut on 1957’s 718 RSK racing car, but 1973’s 911 Carrera RS 2.7 was the starting point as far as road cars were concerned. Conceived as a homologation special to allow Porsche to go racing, it was lighter and faster than the usual Carrera – more than 200bhp in a car that weighed 960kg.

In 1991 we saw the launch of the 964 RS, which once again stripped out most luxuries but gave more power, stiffer suspension, a lightweight flywheel and a limited-slip diff. As the 964 developed into the 993 era, the RS cars became ever more hardcore, although Touring models did provide some comfort.

The water-cooled era saw the launch of the GT3 line, which took off from where the RS lineage left off. However, for those who wanted an even more hardcore experience, in 2003 an even lighter 996 GT3 RS was launched. Subsequent GT3 models have all had RS versions, each one taking the naturally aspirated flat-six to its high-revving zenith.

However, it’s not just naturally aspirated 911s that have worn the RS moniker. If the standard twin-turbo 997 GT2’s 523bhp wasn’t enough, the RS version dialled that all the way up to 612bhp. The 991 generation took things even further, with 691bhp and the use of lightweight materials such as carbonfibre, titanium and magnesium.

This year provides a magnificent chance to see the purest Porsches up close. The ultimate expression of the 911 gene? We’ll let you decide.