Type 7

Simple, elegant, but secretly quite ferocious, Hendrik Volp’s Porsche 911 “T/R” is every bit as subtle as early competition Porsches are meant to be. Though the 70s gave us all kinds of iconic body adornments like the whale tail spoiler, RSR arches and deep dish wheels, none of that was a thing when Hendrik’s car rolled off the line. When it came to modifying it authentically, the car was going to require a very minimalist touch.

“There are plenty of icons from that era - the R, the S/T, the early RS - but somehow none of them felt quite right. The R was too raw, the S/T too muscular, the RS too polished. I’ve always liked things that are sporty but understated. Through a good friend and a lot of research, I came across the T/R - a lightweight model built with factory rally options. Only 35 were ever made, mostly for privateers competing in rally and GT events. I loved that idea: not a factory race car, but one built by individuals who wanted to go fast on their own terms.

The total list of modifications on Hendrik’s 911 T/R is far more exhaustive than its sleeper exterior would lead you to believe. It is, at its heart, a thoroughbred endurance racer, the likes of which used to dominate Europe’s hillclimb and road racing scene. Hendrik’s car doesn’t spend a lot of time in serious competition, but it’s far from a garage queen by any stretch. Up front the car houses a 100 litre (26.4 gallon) fuel tank, a modification that speaks volumes of the type of mileage its accustomed to seeing.

“The engine is where most of the soul comes from. It’s a 2.2 litre flat 6 with 10.1:1 compression, 40mm Webers, twin ignition, RSR cam profiles and Nikasil cylinders. Everything is finely balanced - within a gram - and it revs freely up to around 8000 rpm. It’s got that raw, mechanical feel that modern engines have lost. The gearbox is short ratio, with a limited slip differential to make it lively out of corners. The brakes are from a 3.0 Turbo up front and a 911S in the rear - strong and confidence inspiring. I didn’t want a show car, I just wanted something that feels exactly like those privateer cars must have felt.

Last summer my wife and I drove it from Munich all the way up to Sylt for Petro Surf - about 1100 kms each way. Originally we were supposed to take our 993, but it had a last minute issue. We weren’t thrilled about having to do such a long journey in the T/R - with no air conditioning or comfort of any kind - but the longer we drove, the more we remembered why this car is so special.

It rewards you the harder you drive it. Whether it’s the Großglockner, the Dolomites, or a hidden back road in Bavaria, it’s always the same: the car feels like it was made for that exact stretch of asphalt. The way it dances through corners, the sound echoing off mountain walls, the steering alive in your hands - it’s pure connection between man and machine.”