Porsche 911 SC/RS
- Elite Racing Legends
- 2018-04-03
- 4 min. skaitymo
When it comes to rallying, for some people seeing Porsche's name mentioned seems to be quite a surprise. This brand has built it's name as a tarmac conquering machines, delivering the most of the car in the corner, saving every tenth of a second.
But in the 1980s, Porsches were the ones to fear at Rally stages. Possibly the most successful was the 911 SC/RS, being competitive on both, tarmac and gravel roads. Just before we start digging at the 911, let's remember that there was numerous other models of the German make also hitting the Rallying track. Such being the widely loved 944 (many use the road-legal variant for daily driving and even local rallies), the 928 and 924. (You will be able to see the gallery at the end of an article). These models competed in lower category rallies, most often at tarmac events, as gravel was too much to handle.
The 911 SC/RS had an engine output of 290 horsepower @ 7000rpm and was a rear wheel drive. Despite being underpowered compared to the 4-Wheel-Drive Audis, it pulled off three 3rd place finishes in number of rallies.
The 1982 Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo saw it's 50th anniversary taking place. Whole rally was dominated by the 'King of the Alps', Röhrl Walter and his co-driver Geistdörfer Christian. The Rothmans' Opel was a perfect car for that year's Monte Carlo Rally, as even the Audi Quattros driven by Mikkola Hannu and his co-driver Hertz Arne could not possibly catch the flying German. Fréquelin Guy has been the fastest Porsche 911 SC this rally, just until the car suffered fuel injection porblems in the last stage of the rally. That meant, the second Porsche moved up to the third place, leaving Guy in the fourth. Thérier Jean-Luc and the co-driver Vial Michel managed to secure the first podium for the car in the 1982 World Rally Championship.
For the quick wrap-up of the 50th Anniversary Monte Carlo Rally, check out the video below.
1982 Tour de Corse - Rallye de France also saw a Porsche on the podium. This time a powerful Renault 5 Turbo (driven by Ragnotti Jean with co-driver Andrié Jean-Marc) and a rapid Ferrari 308 GTB (driven by Andruet Jean-Claude with co-driver Biche) has led the event. After a long 1200km twisty mountain roads challenge, Porsche's number 16 managed to score a third best time. Béguin Bernard with his co-driver Lenne Jean-Jacques edged his 911 SC just by 30 seconds to the fourth place, Audi Quattro beast driven by Röhrl Walter.
Watch another success story for Porsche 911 SC below. (Turn on the English Subtitles if you do not speak French)
Year 1985. Season when Group B was reaching it's peak. Beasty machines powered by powerful engines, often exceeding 500horsepower benchmark. Lancias, Audis and Peugeots were the cars to beat, with the latter coming out as champions. Porsche's Type 908/18 (255hp) engine was no match to XU8T of Peugeot, which produced 550hp at 3.0bar, but even with such fast rivals, Saby Bruno's and Fauchille Jean-François' #11 Porsche 911 SC RS managed to secure the third place at Tour de Corse - Rallye de France. Repeating the same scenario as in 1982 Monte Carlo rally, a second Porsche (#10) of Béguin Bernard and Lenne Jean-Jacques finished in 4th. Ragnotti Jean and Thimonier Pierre has won the event in their Renault Maxi 5 Turbo and Saby Bruno with Fauchille Jean-François finished in 2nd with their Peugeot 205 T16 E2.
Some highlights from the '85 Tour de Corse. (We recommend turning up the volume for this one!)
The 911 SC/RS was a story of little guy's fight with the big boys, and how amazing Porsche really is. This car proved that it can go fast not only on a circuit, but also in twisty mountain roads, sometimes even kicking the tail out.
Today, it remains as one of the top wanted for car collectors and rally fans. The 1984 variant have been sold for over 40,000€ in 2007 and now has an estimated worth of 1,100,000 - 1,500,000€.
Truly an iconic car, one of the prettiest ever built. and the sound, oh the sound, is absolutely staggering. We will provide you with some quality video footage at the end of an article, so treat yourself with a nice and deep engine growl.
To sum it up, this Porsche started as simple rallying project and ended up as a perfect Group B car. It was set to be replaced by the 959 Group B SuperCar, but the end of category also meant the end of SC/RS's successor in World Rally Championship. The car was built with 4-wheel-drive, something Porsche wasn't to much familiar with, and way more powerful engine with over 450hp, which meant it could finally compete with Audi monsters in non-tarmac stages. Just before deciding to launch the 959, Porsche tested the car in numerous Dakar rallies and even made a circuit-going version of the car and entered 24hrs of Le Mans in 1986. With an even more modified engine, producing over 640hp, the 959 variant called 961 became the first 4WD car to ever enter Le Mans. It also scored the first and only 'Group B circuit win', as it finished first in it's class and 7th overall.
Just before 959 was ready for proper Group B racing, FIA has made the decision to ban the category, following the death of Taivonen and Cresto at Tour de Corse in 1986.
With the combination of Group B and year 1986, it is remembered as the most unforgiving category and racecars ever to exist in Motorsport world.
That once again brings us to the thought, that 1980s were the golden age of Motorsport. Cars that have never been so hard to handle, with enormous amount of power behind the driver and no electrical assists whatsoever. It really took a lot of courage to sit behind a wheel of such a beast and there is no better feeling for a racer.
That's a wrap for this story today, hope you have enjoyed it. Please do let us know if there is some mistakes in the facts, will surely research it and correct it.
Enjoy the picture and video gallery below.
(Skip the below video to 1:00)
Comments