One to Buy: ex-Revson / Johncock / Follmer 1973 Porsche 911 3.0 Carrera RSR IROC
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For the inaugural International Race of Champions which took place at Riverside and Daytona over the winter of 1973-1974, Roger Penske ordered a batch of identical 911 Carrera RSRs. Uniquely, these 15 ‘IROC’ cars resembled Porsche’s contemporary 911 3.0 Carrera RS, but underneath were built to full RSR specification (option code M491).
Thanks to his excellent connections and a massive prize fund, Penske was able to attract a glittering array of drivers to the IROC. From the world of Formula 1 came Emerson Fittipaldi, Denny Hulme and Peter Revson. NASCAR legends Richard Petty, Bobby Allison and David Pearson also took part along with USAC Indy car drivers Bobby Unser, AJ Foyt, Gordon Johncock and Roger McCluskey. Mark Donohue and George Follmer signed up from Can-Am.
Currently on offer at the Maxted-Page showroom in Halstead, Essex, is IROC RSR chassis 9114600016 which did two of the three Riverside heats. The first heat saw Revson place third while in the second, Gordon Johncock crossed the line ninth despite some mild accident damage and a sick engine. George Follmer then raced chassis ‘0016’ in the Daytona Finale and finished fifth.
Penske ultimately sold all the IROC RSRs to private buyers. This car went to Greg Egerton who, with Elliot Forbes-Robinson, Milt Minter and Cale Yarborough, drove it to much success during the 1974 and ‘75 seasons.
After his 1975 campaign, Greg Egerton sold the RSR to Vasek Polak who had it refinished in white with red and blue stripes and fitted with an earlier 2.8-litre engine. The car remained in static storage for an extended period among Polak’s substantial collection of racing Porsches at his dealership in Hermosa Beach, California.
More recently, by 2000, chassis ‘0016’ had been completely restored to its original Light Yellow livery and factory IROC RSR specification. The car made its post-restoration debut at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance in March 2000 and was later campaigned in historic events to include Rennsport Reunion I and II.
