911 LoveRS

If the title, 911 LoveRS, leaves you with a slight question mark in your mind, turn the pages, and you will quickly get a feel for what the book is all about.

Over the years, Porsche has built innumerable sports car models, but the R and RS monikers have always been the reserve of their high-performance sports and racing machines. So, when a book focussing on these models in the 911 family came along, I had to get it. Contained within the covers of the book, 911 LoveRS, are the stories of owners all of whom own a 911 R or RS. And besides the history of each model, the owners all give their story as to why that particular model appeals to them. If there is a single word that sums up the entire book, it would be Passion!

Celebrating 50 years of the R moniker, authors Jürgen Lewandowski and Bart Lenaerts, have approached this historically rich 911 sub-family from a refreshingly different angle. Starting with the 1967 model 911 R, the authors have traced the history along a 50-year timeline to the 2017 Porsche 911 R, dipping into each R and RS model along the way. Tales of how as little children, some enthusiasts would grow up vowing to own a 911 like ‘the one that Grandpa had.’ In one instance, a decades long search culminated in success and a Carrera RS 2.7 ‘Lightweight’ was added to the 964 RS this owner already had.

It’s not all just pretty pictures and nice words, this book also delves briefly into the history that brought each new RS into being. Chapters covering the birth for example of the RS 2.8, the RS 3.0, the SC-RS and others, introduce readers to the development, design and also the motorsport achievements of certain models. There are chapters where famous owners give their story of RS ownership, such as John Watson, the former Formula 1 driver.

Other chapters cover the acquisition of the 964 3.8-litre RSR, a Speedster RS and a 993 RS Clubsport. The development of the 993 RS gets its own chapter, as does the Type 996, the model that ushered in the new water-cooled generation of 911. Specifically, the Type 996 GT3 RS is given a special place, where the dream of owning this model was the realisation of two young boys whose father fed them a diet of Matchbox models, which just fuelled the passion of these two youngsters.

The book moves onto the 997 GT3 RS, the 4.0 RS, the 991 GT3 4.0 RS, the GT2 RS and finally the current 911 R. A chapter on Porsche designer Michael Mauer covers the design of the 991 GT3 4.0 RS, and is supported with some great photography. The penultimate chapter introduces the 991 R, which should bring the story to a close, but the final chapter is given over to a special road trip in a pair of 911 Rs. Entitled simply Pilgrimage, it is a story of a trip down memory lane for a grandfather and grandson duo, a 1967 911 R and a 2017 991 R.

This final chapter starts with the arrival of the grandfather, a 1967 911 R, to greet his grandson, a 2017 991 R which was unveiled at the Porsche Museum entrance in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. The pair then undertook a pilgrimage to the location where the 1967 car stunned the automotive world with its raft of world records that were set on the old Monza circuit. The story of the epic 1967 world records that were set that day elevated the 911 into stardom, and the account of this event makes a fitting closure to the book. Although the old Monza circuit is no longer used, it made the perfect backdrop to some awesome photography.

While this book won’t tell you everything about every model it covers, it provides an interesting approach to this hugely important and significant sub-family of 911 cars. There is plenty to read about the cars, and the stories are told by folk you would not always find in regular Porsche books, so in that way it offers some unique insights. 911 LoveRS will make an attractive addition to the bookshelf in your Porsche library.

About the authors:

After studying German and English, Jürgen Lewandowski worked for auto, motor und sport and from autumn of 1977–1979 he was head of the technology department at the magazine Hobby. From 1979–2000 he was senior motor editor at Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany’s largest daily newspaper). Since 2000 he has been an author and contributor to various publications worldwide. He has been dealing with the automotive industry for decades and has close contacts with automotive museums and car collectors worldwide. He has collected books for his own library for the last 30 years, which now contains more than 4500 books relating to the auto industry. He has initiated, written and worked with authors on around 90 books relating to new cars and the history of cars. Jürgen Lewandowski lives in Munich.

Bart Lenaerts is a freelance motoring journalist, and is married to Lies De Mol, a freelance photographer. Together, they have produced and published a number of books and many stories, mainly covering the outer edges of the motoring universe. Lenaerts likes cars and searches for the truth in his writing about both the cars and the people behind the cars. Fortunately, his wife also likes cars, and she has an eye for the beauty in cars. Together they form a rather formidable creative team. Lenaerts lives with his family in Antwerp, Belgium.

Key information:

Written by: Glen Smale
Images by: Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale