FEATHERWEIGHT

Featherweight

Replicating the last ever 911R to a near-obsessive standard.

When building a replica of an original 911R, there really aren’t any shortcuts. The 20 originals were cars defined by their painstaking attention to detail. They weren’t adorned with a distinct aero package, a unique colour scheme or even a special set of wheels, just an honest, obsessive commitment to weight stripping in all the areas most other people would hardly think to touch.

That was the challenge Uwe took on when he set out to replicate the very last 911R, a unique metallic blue example. “The idea was to build as authentic a replica as possible, just not one meant for a showroom, but rather a perfect driver that could be used in any weather and on any occasion” says Uwe, speaking to Type 7.

“My friend Mark runs a workshop for air-cooled Porsches, and he’d already started on a 911R tribute at the time. In 2020, I’d had the opportunity to buy this, another car that Mark had built with our mutual friend Joachim based on a 1967 912. At that point, it was already close to a 911R but it was missing many technical and visual details to make it right, including the colour.

So Joachim dismantled the car and painted it the blue metallic colour of the last R built, while Mark implemented the technical modifications. I worked on the interior and many other details using original literature and photos of the original car. The doors were replaced with GRP panels and thinner glass, leather straps replaced the window cranks and the carpet was completely removed. Contemporary sports seats, belts and a steering wheel were installed and all the switches and gauges were changed too.

Everything was done to reduce weight. I replaced the rims with original Fuchs rims, which I left sandblasted and unpainted, as was the case with some of the original cars. It was a long process to procure and adapt all the parts, because it was so important to me to use only what would have been available at the time, as if it had been built many decades ago.”

It’s said that when Ferdinand Piëch led the original 911R project, he had his team dismantle a base 911 and had each component weighed on a scale against the part they’d sourced to replace it. Parts like the engine cover ended up on much smaller hinges, the door handles were remade in plastic and the lighting units were replaced with the lightest available at the time. Hundreds of these incremental changes led to a final weight figure of just 820kg.

“The idea was to build as authentic a replica as possible, just not one meant for a showroom, but rather a perfect driver that could be used in any weather and on any occasion”

"The R has everything you need for driving. The power delivery is vehement, it accelerates like a catapult, the sound at 7,500 RPM is unbelievable! Even when conditions are less than ideal and it’s pouring with rain, the car does what it’s supposed to do."

Uwe’s car is a very close recreation of that effort, and much like the original car, it was built to excel in long distance road rallies and European hillclimb events. “Our R feels particularly at home on tight hairpin bends and curves, allowing it to show its strengths to the full on alpine passes. Our favourite trips in the car are tours of the Alps, it’s an indescribable feeling of happiness whenever you reach a summit.

The R has everything you need for driving. The power delivery is vehement, it accelerates like a catapult, the sound at 7,500 RPM is unbelievable! Even when conditions are less than ideal and it’s pouring with rain, the car does what it’s supposed to do. The lightweight doors aren’t completely watertight, but with no insulation or carpet, it’s always easy to clean out.

Though it’s a race car, we don’t actually use it on the track. My wife Antje shares my passion for the car, so we both use it together or separately as a daily driver or for vacations and events. A week long trip in the R is exhausting and demanding. Nevertheless, whenever I return home, I always feel like I could just keep on driving.”