One to Buy: ex-Harry Blumer / Edwin Kofel / Edy Brandenberger 1974 Porsche 911 3.0 Carrera RSR
Porsche’s domination of 1970s GT racing initially came about thanks to the creation of an ultra specialised Renn Sport 911 designed to exploit the Group 4 regulations, approval for which required a production run of 500 cars.
Whereas other manufacturers simply homologated their regular road car offerings, the Porsche 911 2.7 Carrera RS was conceived purely to pave the way for the most extreme racing iteration possible and did so to great effect.
The competition version of the 2.7 Carrera RS produced for the 1973 season was the 2.8 Carrera RSR which cleaned up in every championship that Porsche and its customers chose to contest. The following year an evolution model emerged, the 3.0 Carrera RS, which in turn spawned the even more extreme 3.0 Carrera RSR which came to be regarded as arguably the ultimate normally aspirated Group 4 car of the 1970s.
As a consequence of its immense effectiveness, Porsche managed to sell 56 examples of the 3.0 Carrera RSR between 1974 and ‘75, one of which is currently on the market at the Canepa showroom in Scotts Valley, California.
Configured in the unusual but spectacular shade of Kelly Green, chassis 9114609053 was originally supplied to Swiss privateer Harry Blumer who went on to win the 1974 Schweizer Meisterschaft.
Blumer’s countryman, Edwin Kofel, then campaigned the green RSR during the 1975 and ‘76 Swiss championships, after which it was sold to Edy Brandenberger who secured the car’s second Schweizer Meisterschaft thanks to a dominant 1977 campaign.
Edy Brandenberger ran 9114609053 for one more season in 1978, after which the car was placed into storage where it resided for almost 20 years.
Having since been restored to a very high standard, this exceptional two-time Swiss Championship-winning RSR is offered in race-ready condition fresh from a major overhaul.
Reprinted below is Canepa’s description:
VIN: 9114609053
Mileage: 64742
Exterior Color: Kelly Green
2-time Swiss National championship winner
Campaigned by Harry Blumer, Edwin Kofel, and Edy Brandenberger
7th of 37 1974 Porsche RSR 3.0s produced by Porsche
Believed to be one of the winningest RSR 3.0s raced
Major and comprehensive mechanical servicing by Canepa
345 horsepower/245 lb-ft of torque 3.0-liter flat six engine
One of the best handling Porsche 911 variants produced
Participant in Rennsport IV, V and VI
Includes complete engine rebuild at time of delivery
A company such as Porsche did not make a name for themselves by accepting the status quo. With their racing customers’ insatiable appetite for performance and competition, doing simple upgrades would simply not do.
The 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 2.8 saw lots of success in the racing circuit, but with mounting competition Porsche knew they would need to design a car that broke the performance mold. Enter the 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.0: a more powerful, wider, meaner and more visceral race car that to this day is known as one of the best performing naturally aspirated 911 race cars ever designed by Porsche.
This bright green RSR 3.0’s story began being purchased from AMAG by Garage Zbinden for their customer and the RSR’s first owner, Harry Blumer in early 1974. The Swiss racer was heavily involved with Garage Zbinden from years of racing in a Porsche 911 S and 911 RS.
Wanting a real race car, Blumer and his friend, Porsche Werks driver Herbert Muller, went to Weissach to order the RSR 3.0. Their primary objective for the 1974 season was to win the prestigious Swiss championship. Unlike many other championships, the Swiss winner had to participate in 5 sanctioned hill climbs in Switzerland, 5 circuit races, and 2 sanctioned airfield races in Switzerland.
With a multifaceted racing series such as this, car setup and maintenance are crucial and a critical part of the winning team’s strategy. According to notes, Blumer’s success was largely due to Mr. Hans Ulrich Sharer, his mechanic from Zbinden.
The 1974 season would be successful for Blumer, taking numerous first-in-class finishes along with respectable overall finishes. Some of the locales for the races included Dijon, Hockenheim, Casale, Osterrichring, along with other Swiss local cities for hill climbs. Based on his success of more than 5 podiums, he won the Swiss national championship in 1974.
With his 1974 season now complete, he sold the car to its next racing owner, Edwin Kofel. Kofel, also a Swiss racer, owned the car for 1975 and 1976, actively campaigning the car in the same championship.
Over the two years, Kofel would amass a total of 14 podium finishes, with four of those being 1st in class in 1976. After the 1976 season, Kofel sold the car to Edy Brandenberger, the RSR’s next future championship-owner.
Brandenberger would yield the most wins in a season for the RSR, with 1977 totalling a staggering 17 podium finishes, seven 1st-in-class finishes and nine 1st place finishes. With his incredible driving ability along with the RSR’s performance, this RSR became a two-time Swiss National championship winner.
Brandenberger’s racing with the RSR was not over however, as he continued to race the car in 1978 and went on to score ten 1st place finishes and 14 total podium finishes. After the car’s impressive consecutive racing seasons, it was placed into deep storage and would not emerge for almost two decades.
This RSR has a consistent, documented ownership until present time. The car was restored after its long storage sometime in the early 1990s and upon completion was sold to John Leggat of the USA. Leggat would own the car for almost 10 years before passing away and was subsequently sold to Phil Bagley. The car would go between a few collectors before arriving being purchased by Canepa in 2007.
During this RSR’s active racing career, it was able to amass quite the amount of victories with its racing drivers. Some of the most notable items about this car is how unscathed the chassis is, along with its almost untarnished racing record. Entering almost all of its races and finishing them, this is testament to how fastidiously maintained this car remained during its racing career. Both are rare occurrences for race cars of this era, creating a rare combination that only adds even more provenance to this car.
During the ownership of its recent caretaker, the car has seen active historic motorsport racing, including the Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca and Porsche’s Rennsport events. During this time, it was authentically maintained and today remains very fresh mechanically.
After a decade of ownership with historic racing weekends at different tracks, the owner spoke with Bruce Canepa about selling the car. It wasn’t long before the historic race car made its way back to Canepa.
Upon return the car was extensively inspected per the “Canepa Difference”, an intensive scrutineering of all the car’s mechanicals and cosmetics. Once the inspection was completed, Canepa set out to bring the RSR to a high track-ready standard, servicing the mechanical systems as needed, resulting in a cost of over $63,000.
Owning an authentic Porsche 911 RSR 3.0 that is highly original is both a unique opportunity and a rare one at that. This car’s complete original tub, structural elements, original oil tank, dash, pedal box, 917 brake calipers, original Bosch ignition boxes are still fitted to the car. The original chassis VIN is still intact and unaltered.
This car represents an excellent opportunity to own a winning RSR 3.0 in fantastic condition. An early production unit ordered new by Harry Blumer, raced by Swiss drivers for 5 years and claiming two Swiss championships in the process, this excellent 1974 Porsche 911 RSR 3.0 will add value to any collection that it is a part of.
Racing History
1974 - 1974 Swiss National Championship Winner
04/07 - Tessin – Flugplatz – “Laudrino”
04/14 – Osterreichring Payerne (Flugplatz)
05/12 - Casale (Piemont – Italy), Blumer 4th
06/02 - Dijon National Race, Blumer 1st (ex-eaquo with Leinhard)
06/22 - Wangen – (5.6km track), Blumer, #115
07/21 - Hockenheim, Blumer 3rd
07/28 - Freiburg-Schauinsland EHC: Blumer. 3rd in GT class
08/18 - St. Ursanne-Les Rangiers, EHC, 13th OA, 1st in Group 4
08/25 - Hockenheim – Preis der Natioen DRM, 11th OA, 2nd in Group 4
09/08 - Gurnigel Rennen – Hill Climb
09/29 - St. Peterzell – Hemberg
10/74 - Hockenheim 3-Hour racing, Blumer/Kofel, 1st in Group 4
1975
04/11 - Dijon, Kofel, 2nd in class
05/04 - Sembach, Kofel, 2nd
05/11 - Casale, Kofel, 3rd
06/06 - Osterreichring, Kofel, 2nd in class
06/13 - Slalom Romont, Kofel, 1st in class
06/15 - Santa Monica (Italy), Kofel, #94, 2nd
06/22 - Eggbergrennen (hillclimb), Kofel, 2nd
07/20 - Hockenheim Sudwestpokal (EC-GT), Kofel, DNQ
08/31 - Hockenheim Preis der Nationen, Kofel, 4th
09/13 - Gurnigel (hillclimb), Kofel, 4th
09/27 - Hemberg (hillclimb), Kofel, 3rd
1976
03/27 - Hockenheim, Kofel, 1st in class
04/03 - Le Castellet, Kofel, 2nd in class
04/17 - Monza, Kofel, 1st in class
06/12 - Slalom Romont, Kofel, #116, 1st in class
08/07 - Ayent-Anzere (hill climb), Kofel, 1st in class
09/25 - Hemberg (hill climb), Kofel, 2nd in class
10/31 - Hockenheim 3-Hour, Brandenberger/Blumer #65
1977- 1977 Swiss National Championship Winner
03/27 - Hockenheim, Brandenberger, #133, 1st in class
04/03 - Le Castellet, Brandenberger, #177, 1st
04/17 - Monza, Brandenberger, #51, 1st
05/29 - Osterreichring, Brandenberger, 1st
06/12 - Slalom Romont, Brandenberger, 1st in class
06/19 - Slalom Saanen, Brandenberger, 1st in class
06/26 - Eggberg Hill, Brandenberger, 1st in class
07/03 - Hockenheim, Brandenberger, 1st
07/17 - Hockenheim, Brandenberger, 1st
08/08 - Ayent-Anzere (hill climb), Brandenberger, 1st in class
08/14 - Oberhallau (hill climb), Brandenberger, 1st in class
08/21 - St. Ursanne-Les Rangiers, Brandenberger, 3rd in Group 5, 14th OA
09/04 - Dijon, Brandenberger, #628, 1st
09/11 - Gurnigel (hill climb), Brandenberger, 1st
09/25 - St. Peterzell-Hemberg Hill, Brandenberger 1st
10/02 - Zwisschenwasser Hill, Brandenberger, 1st
10/15 - Hockenheim 3-Hours, Brandenberger/Blumer, #83, 1st in class
1978 (raced in GT Class)
04/16 - Monza, Brandenberger, 2nd
04/32 - Dijon, Brandenberger, 1st
04/30 - Hockenheim, Brandenberger, #421, 1st
05/14 - Zeltweg, Brandenberger, #35, 1st
05/28 - Slalom Saanen, Brandenberger, 1st
06/11 - Slalom Ramont, Brandenberger, 1st
06/18 - Misano, Brandenberger, 1st
07/16 - Hockenheim, Brandenberger, 1st
08/06 - Ayent-Znzere, Brandenberger, 2nd
08/20 - St. Ursannes – Len Rangiers (hill climb), Brandenberger, 1st
09/03 - Hockenheim, Brandenberger, 1st
09/10 - Gurnigel (hill climb), Brandenberger, 1st
09/24 - Hemberg, Brandenberger, 1st
10/22 - Hockenheim 3-Hours, Brandenberger/Blumer, 2nd
