1974 Porsche

The 1973 Carrera RS is highly regarded within Porsche circles, and rightly so. However, because of new federal regulations, in October 1973, for the 74-model year, the Carrera RS was replaced with a new Carrera featuring near identical mechanicals but wrapped in a new G Series body. These early Carrera models weighed 1,075kg, just 15kg heavier than the outgoing RS Touring, so unsurprisingly performance figures quoted from Porsche at launch were identical.

However, a £2,235.00 price hike over the outgoing 1973 RS Touring, to £8,580.00 at launch was probably one of the reasons only 1,011 Carrera 2.7 MFI Coupes were produced for the 1974 model year, ironically making them rarer than the holy grail – the 1973 RS.

History has not been kind to the 1974 Carrera, often being overshadowed by the more delicate looking 1973 variants. However, as time has gone by, the impact bumper cars are now having their day as a new generation of buyer who actually prefers them is emerging.

We are pleased to offer this left hand drive Carrera 2.7 MFI for sale, that was manufactured in December 1973, making it one of the earliest examples available.

It was first supplied by Porsche cars Belgium and registered in Brussels May 1974 to a Mr Dlugi and then to Mr Desomme who kept the car until 1983. It then moved to the south of France where it remained until 1998 with its third owner, Mr Chabert before being purchase in Cannes and imported into the UK by its 4th owner Mr Sellick in December 1998.

Although the ownership history is clear from new, as with many cars of this age, the service history is less complete with nothing present during its life in Belgium. This is possibly made a little clearer, with correspondence from Mr Chabert to Mr Sellick in the history file in 1998 confirming the car was originally orange and before his ownership had been painted white whilst the engine had been replaced at some stage with another unit from a 1973 car, hard to believe now, but probably cheaper than having the original rebuilt at the time.

When we purchased the car in 2013, a certificate of authenticity from Porsche was acquired which confirmed it was originally orange, with leather interior, ducktail rear spoiler and electric sunroof. It had been maintained in the UK by several specialists and had received a thorough restoration by Barry Carter (Early 911 coachbuilding) in 2008. However, mechanically was a little tired all the way through, the engine, having seen better days.

We already owned another 2.7MFI engine that had been built up from new genuine un-numbered 7R cases, so we fitted this along with a rebuilt gearbox, brakes and suspension and carried out a glass out respray. We then used the car as a daily driver during the summer months until 2016 when we were approached by a regular client who had been looking for a useable left hand drive car suitable for long European trips. It has since passed through our hands again a couple of times and its current custodian has spent in excess of £36,000, and a considerable amount of time improving the car further.

This includes a modern Porsche PCM unit, full interior refit by Southbound Motor Trimmers, with the correct period materials used throughout, the original Fuchs wheels correctly restored with anodised rims and petals with period Pirelli Cinturato tyres, a comprehensive mechanical refresh and detail by MCE Porsche, and finally a full suspension overhaul and geometry set up by Chris Franklin at Centre Gravity.

Our Thoughts

If you are looking for a matching number, never restored car then you will need to keep looking for that needle in a haystack elsewhere. However, if you want a car that looks, feels and drives exactly as a 1974 Carrera should, this example is now in beautiful condition, a joy to drive and would make the perfect companion for another one of those European road trips, and those impact bumpers are suddenly looking pretty cool too!