Lightweight Special

A lightened 911 that connects the dots between the original 2.7 RS and 964 RS, Total 911 drives the rare 3.2 Clubsport

- Tim Pitt

Had I been a car journalist 36 years ago, I’d probably have sat on this same pinstriped seat. I would have travelled to Porsche GB’s new office in Calcot, near Reading – where its headquarters remains today – left my Austin Metro in the car park and wandered tentatively around to the press workshop. There, I’d have discovered a boxfresh 3.2 Carrera Clubsport, resplendent in Grand Prix white with ‘911 HUL’ registration plates: the very same car I’m driving today. No doubt a few famous names sat right here, too.

Back in 1988, a scribbled note in my imaginary Filofax says I’m expected in north Wales that afternoon. So I glug down a cup of Gold Blend, slip on my Ray-Bans and hit the M4 westbound for a cover-story showdown with the car’s contemporaries: a Renault Alpine GTA V6 Turbo, Lotus Esprit Turbo and BMW E30 M3. Two days of incredible roads and intense driving await, climaxing in a hard-fought battle between Stuttgart and Munich – with our aircooled hero eventually claiming victory. Am I biased? Naturally, but the 911 3.2 Carrera Clubsport really is that good.

Fast-forward to 2024 and that hard-worked press car is enjoying a pampered retirement inside DK Engineering’s dehumidified, temperature-controlled storage facility. Flickering into view beneath white fluorescent lights, it looks gloriously retro, combining the athleticism of a Carrera 2.7 RS with the aggression of a 930 Turbo. In truth, the car underneath isn’t hugely different to a regular 3.2 Carrera. Yet as I’ll soon discover, small details here make a big difference.