In Porsche folklore, the combination of a hardtop coupe with a lightweight designation makes for one of the more sought-after models in the company’s family tree. Through the years, Porsche has offered a naturally-aspirated model with the added bonus of reduced body-weight through strategic equipment deletes that yield a raw, driver-focused model produced in limited quantities. The 964-chassis 911’s version of this was a model called the RS America, and this car is one of just 701 examples sold between 1993 and 1994 in the U.S.
The RS America was a U.S. version of a similar model offered in Europe, and joined with the RS America Roadster, giving customers in the states a 1-2 punch of lightweight 964 models to choose from. The Roadster featured the enhanced Turbo-style bodywork in addition to the weight savings, while the coupe used the standard narrow body. The rear spoiler was a significant “tell” that this was a special version of the 911, as it was fixed in place and featured body-color grills. Obviously, the badges are a helpful clue as well.
The easiest way to achieve weight savings is to reduce the list of available features, and in the case of the RS America, Porsche made some key deletions from the options list. Chief among them were air conditioning, cruise control, a radio and a sunroof; the rear seats were also removed. However, you could still request these options if desired, and this RSA has a radio and air conditioning along with a limited-slip differential. As you might expect, these cars were prime candidates for track day use, and the model shown here exhibits some signs of having been modified for spirited driving at your local road course. The seller confirms it was raced extensively early in life.
This RSA comes with a recently rebuilt engine, a resprayed exterior, new RS door panels and Touring seats, Bilstein PS9 coilover suspension, 993 Turbo brakes, a full Fabspeed exhaust system with heater boxes, and more. There is an accident in its history file from an off-track excursion resulting in suspension damage, and the seller retains all records of the track day kerfuffle. The RS America will forever be one of the most desirable air-cooled models ever sold stateside, which explains why bidding is approaching $60,000 here on eBay with the reserve unmet as of this writing.
Any bets on how fast this reaches $six digits?
The limited slip dif should help somewhat to tame the inherent rear engine Porsche propensity of having the tail wag the dog, but I’ll wager this hot rod will still be a handful.
Good pick.
To save weight, it has no door armrests, but does have power windows & possibly power locks. Odd.
My dad had an RS America in like this 1995, was freshly pre-owned.
He obviously wishes he had kept it, Im looking forward to sharing with him the price this fetches when the hammer drops.
I wonder how much weight was saved by not equipping it w/ cruise control.
It seems like it’d make more sense to put the driver on a diet. :)
As nice as these cars are they are watered down versions for the US market. If you want the real deal you have to own either a ROW RS or one of the 45 Cup USA cars basically federalized ROW RS prepped for the aborted US Cup series.