Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0
1974 · Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0 — Sports Car, Flat-6, designed by Anatole “Tony” Lapine.
The Story
The Carrera RS 3.0 is the rare, hardcore successor to the legendary 1973 Carrera RS 2.7 — and one of the finest naturally-aspirated 911s ever built. Created in 1974 as a road-going homologation special for the all-conquering RSR race car, it took the new 3.0-litre flat-six (230 PS), wrapped it in a lightweight, aluminium-and-thin-glass body weighing around 900 kg, added wide arches and a ‘whale-tail’ spoiler, and produced a faster, more capable and even rarer machine than the 2.7 that preceded it. Just ~55 RS road cars were built (around 109 including the RSR variants), making it an exceedingly rare, blue-chip collector grail — and, by most accounts, a better car to drive than the hallowed 2.7 RS.
The Numbers
Benchmarked against its class
Each dial ranks this car within its Sports Car class — fuller means higher, and the tick marks the class midpoint.
Signature Colors
The Designer
Anatole “Tony” Lapine
Lapine fled Riga as a child, apprenticed at Daimler-Benz, then built a US career at GM before leading Porsche design for nearly two decades. Under him Porsche launched its front-engine, water-cooled transaxle cars (924/928/944) alongside continued 911 development.
Studio Motors POV
The rare, hardcore heir to the 2.7 RS — lighter, faster, and by many accounts a better drive, with just ~55 built. A documented, authenticated Carrera RS 3.0 is a blue-chip grail; provenance and originality are everything.
The Engine
Air-cooled flat-six
Lineage
Where it sits in the bloodline
Market & Value
Values on cars like this move monthly. Our brokers price from real transactions.
What Reviewers Said About 911 Carrera RS 3.0
Worth Knowing About the 911 Carrera RS 3.0
3 Things You Didn’t Know
- 1) Only ~55 Carrera RS 3.0 road cars were built (around 109 including the RSR race versions) — far rarer than the 1973 RS 2.7. 2) At around 900 kg with 230 PS, it's a homologation special for the RSR race car — and many regard it as a better drive than the more famous 2.7 RS. 3) It hit 0-62 mph in 5.3 seconds and 152 mph — staggering for 1974, on lightweight aluminium body panels.
5 Fast Facts
- • 1974; ~55 RS road cars (~109 incl. RSR). • 3.0L air-cooled flat-six, 230 PS; ~900 kg. • Homologation special for the RSR race car. • 0-62 in 5.3 s; 152 mph (1974). • A blue-chip grail — among the finest NA 911s ever.
Provenance
Owners & what to look for
Famous Owners
FLAG: no single documented/citable celebrity owner verified here. (Excluded rather than guessed.)
Studio Buyer’s Brief
Provenance, matching numbers and documented history are everything on a ~55-car grail — and authenticity is paramount (verify it’s a genuine RS 3.0, not a replica). Originality commands the highest values; race history (for ex-RSR cars) is a separate, specialist consideration. This is a museum-grade, seven-figure collector car; buy the very best documented example with expert verification.
Full Specifications
- Make / Model
- Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0
- Class
- Sports Car
- Production years
- 1974
- Units built
- ~55
- Variants
- Coupe (~55 built)
- Engine layout
- Rear
- Engine
- Flat-6
- Engine family
- Air-cooled flat-six
- Displacement
- 3.0L / 2994 cc
- Power
- 230 hp
- Torque
- 202 lb-ft
- 0–60 mph
- 5.2 s
- Top speed
- 152 mph
- Power-to-weight
- 256 hp/tonne · 8.6 lb/hp
- Transmission
- 5-speed manual
- Drivetrain
- RWD (rear-engine) · Petrol
- Curb weight
- 1984 lb
Questions
911 Carrera RS 3.0 FAQ
What is the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0?
The 911 Carrera RS 3.0 (1974) is an ultra-rare factory racing homologation special, built in approximately 55 examples as a direct development of the Carrera RS 2.7 for Group 4 racing. It uses a 3.0-litre engine (~230 hp in road trim) and served as the road-going basis for RSR-type race cars.
What engine does the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0 use?
The 911 Carrera RS 3.0 uses a Type 911/77 3.0-litre air-cooled flat-six producing 230 hp and 202 lb-ft of torque through a 5-speed manual gearbox. It was the first 911 to use a 3.0-litre engine in road-going form, and the engine architecture fed directly into the 930 Turbo and the 911 SC that followed.
What is a Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0 worth today?
The RS 3.0 trades in the $1,500,000-$2,400,000-plus range, with an RM Sotheby’s result of $2,370,000 recorded in August 2024. Its approximately 55-unit production run makes it rarer than the Carrera RS 2.7 and commands a correspondingly higher price. RM Sotheby’s and Gooding handle the majority of RS 3.0 consignments.
How does the Carrera RS 3.0 differ from the Carrera RS 2.7?
The RS 3.0 (1974, approximately 55 built) was a more extreme development of the RS 2.7 (1972-1973, approximately 1,580 built), featuring a wider body with flared arches, the new 3.0-litre engine, and suspension tuned to RSR racing specification. The RS 2.7 was a homologation special for mass production; the RS 3.0 was a small-batch racing tool. Today the RS 3.0 trades at roughly double the value of a comparable RS 2.7.
Can Studio Motors source a Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0?
Yes.
The Porsche Lineup
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911 Turbo (964) ’90911 Carrera RS (964) ’91968 ’92911 (993) ’94911 Carrera RS (993) ’95911 Turbo (993) ’95911 GT2 (993) ’95Boxster (986) ’96911 (996) ’97911 GT3 (996) ’99
911 Turbo (996) ’00911 GT2 (996) ’01Cayenne (955) ’02911 (997) ’04Boxster / Cayman (987) ’04Carrera GT ’04911 Turbo (997) ’06911 GT3 (997) ’06911 GT3 RS (997) ’06911 GT2 (997) ’07911 Sport Classic (997) ’09Panamera (970) ’09
911 GT2 RS (997) ’10911 Speedster (997) ’10Cayenne (958) ’10911 (991.1) ’11Boxster / Cayman (981) ’12911 Turbo (991) ’13911 GT3 (991) ’13918 Spyder ’13Macan (95B) ’14911 GT3 RS (991) ’15Cayman GT4 / Boxster Spyder (981) ’15911 (991.2) ’16911 R (991) ’16718 Cayman / Boxster (982) ’16911 GT2 RS (991) ’17Panamera (971) ’17Cayenne (9Y0) ’17911 Speedster (991) ’19911 (992.1) ’19718 Cayman GT4 / Spyder (982) ’19Taycan ’19
911 Turbo (992) ’20911 GT3 (992) ’21Cayenne Turbo GT (9Y0) ’21911 Dakar (992) ’22911 GT3 RS (992) ’22911 Sport Classic (992) ’22718 Cayman GT4 RS / Spyder RS (982) ’22911 S/T (992) ’23911 (992.2) ’24911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid (992.2) ’24Panamera (972) ’24Macan Electric ’24
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