TANGERINE RACER

Tangerine Racer

The sensible choice for Alpine transport

Some commutes are a little more glamorous than others, we all know that. Still, it’s hard to believe that there are people who leave the house every morning to a rough approximation of the 1971 Rallye Monte Carlo. For Pascal Ducrot, the office is a few alpine country lanes away from his home in Switzerland where he keeps a small collection of replica rally cars. Among them is this 1971 Porsche 911E, owned since 2011 and reconstructed to perfection.

“When I bought the car it was a white RS replica with blue Fuchs wheels. I liked the wider arches and the lightweight interior, but that was about it… Since the car had some rust, I decided to restore it back to its original tangerine colour, on top of giving it a few ‘outlaw’ touches. It’s neither an RS nor an ST replica now, it’s simply the look I like. I wanted to keep it light with plastic bumpers, an alloy rear lid, lightweight interior and a few other details like the door handles which I drilled and re-chromed.

The engine also got an overhaul but mostly to original spec, while the chassis received new suspension with Turbo shocks in the rear and new bushings throughout. Even with slight improvements, the car feels completely different to an original 1971. The standard E engine only delivers 155hp but the lightweight build of the car and fantastic chassis setup just makes the drive feel very pure and a whole lot of fun.”

It’s a great pity that most of the time Pascal Ducrot (@rennsitz) is seen roaring through Switzerland’s rural lanes in his tangerine 1971 Porsche 911E, he isn’t doing so with a chase car and photographer on hand. On this rare occasion he took us along for the ride, offering some local wisdom on how he makes the most out of this incredible landscape.

“For a lot of outsiders the Swiss alps and all its famous passes are a playground. That’s fine if you don’t mind cruising behind thousands of cyclists, wannabe Moto GP racers and sightseeing tourists. Especially on sunny days or weekends, that’s not my recommendation. We have lots of other roads in the Prealps around Fribourg where you can really enjoy driving. For me that means narrow roads, no traffic and lots of cornering. You find a lot of that in the Jura behind La Chaux-de-Fonds and the Doubs area between Switzerland and France.

“From the start of this project, I simply wanted to build, drive and race my dream 911 and that’s still how I feel about it to this day.”

I do a lot of work on these cars myself, the only thing I don’t touch is engine and chassis setup. Since the restoration was finished in 2013, it’s been all about the little details like the door handles and the rear grille, small things like that. In 2020 I found the original pair of Cibie spot lights which I put on the hood.

“The car is a daily driver but I also use it on track days and historic mountain races. I’ve also done two tarmac rallies in it.”

Alongside my 911E, I’ve been restoring a 1968 short wheelbase 911S, but that car is going to be completely stock. Though I must admit for the look, drive and feel, the 911E is still my favourite and in character it’s completely different to the short wheelbase car.”