From R To S And Back

No sooner had it left Baurʼs workshop in April ʼ68 than this 911R was back at the factory, this time at the race department, being softened up in S-spec as a one-off road car. Luckily for us – and for race ace Gérard Larrousse on the 1969 Ronde Cévenole – its next owner swiftly had it returned to full R-spec back at the factory.

- Johnny Tipler

Austerity in motion, the 911R is a spartan competition car. Created in mid-1967, it's one of the rarest 911 derivatives, with a mere 20 cars bearing the RennSport R chassis number. Its specification, which included the 210bhp 901/22 Carrera Six-specification engine, meant it was technically a prototype and thus eligible only for the GTP class.

At the time it was categorised as a Group 4 car, requiring a maximum of 50 units built in 12 consecutive months. On the other hand, the 911S in race trim was eligible for Group 3, demanding a minimum of 500 units built in a year. The factory race department retained six of the 20 911Rs as Versuchswagen to be tested and raced by the factory; the remaining 14 were sold to favoured customers for racing and rallying in the new FIA Group 4 Appendix J category.

This is number 16, VIN 118 99 016R, and it has an intriguing story. It's being marketed by Lasne-based Kobus Cantraine, who holds a thick dossier on the car's provenance, starting with confirmation by none other than Jürgen Barth that it was delivered to French concessionaire August Veuillet under the auspices of importers Sonauto on 9th April 1968, and sold straight away to Parisian entertainments company Les Danseurs, which belonged to leading 911 exponent Claude Ballot-Léna.