The Last 1967 Porsche 911R Prototype Ever Built

1. The Last 1967 Porsche 911R Prototype

Fresh off a restoration by Bruce Canepa and his team at Canepa in Scotts Valley, California, this 1967 Porsche 911R Prototype is special for a lot of reasons. For starters, it's number four of only four ever produced. Those cars came about when Porsche decided to yank four 911S examples off the production line and convert them into race cars. The result of which sparked a wildly successful motorsports legend that endures to this day.

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2. Simplify, Then Add Lightness

The purpose of the four cars, known as R1, R2, R3, and R4, was to begin of the homologation of a 911 racecar. Porsche's goal was to remove as much weight from the cars as possible, and they managed to shave a full 500 pounds from the production 911S. This was accomplished by fitting lightweight doors, deck-lids, and bumpers. Elsewhere, things like aluminum hinges and thin steel, along with a lack of sound deadening material and undercoating, helped reduce weight to just over 1,800 pounds.

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3. And of Course, Add Power

For its lightweight racer, Porsche used a mixture of drivetrain bits to form the right combination. The racing 906 in 911 guise uses a twin-plug 1,991 cc flat six producing 225 hp. The transmission is a 901 unit, fitted with a dogleg first gear and a gearshift sitting 100mm back from its original position. With an oil tank sporting similar construction to the 906 and 910, the 911R Prototype was all race car underneath that normal looking bodywork.

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4. One Truly Special Porsche

R4 finished in Lemon Yellow, is said to be the most original of the four prototypes. Porsche sold the car to one of its distributors, Sonauto, in Lavalloie, France back in 1969. It campaigned in the Ronde Cevenole Rally, but after the owner missed a few payments, the 911R was returned to the dealership and set to be auctioned off in 1970. One day before the auction, the car was stolen. It disappeared for a full 20 years before resurfacing.

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5. Return to Glory

Amazingly, R4 was discovered in a Marseilles warehouse in 1991, in excellent condition with only 5,702 miles showing on the odometer. After the car was returned to its last legal owner, R4 was once again sold to a gentleman in the U.K. After another ownership change, the last 911R prototype found its way to the U.S. and underwent a full restoration by Canepa. As you might imagine, the asking price for this amazing car is available only by request. And considering the fact that a few production Rs have gone for nearly $5 million, you can consider that a starting point for this rare beast.

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