Beschreibung:

The fabulously successful family of Porsche RSR RennSport Coupes requires little introduction to this experienced market. Amongst this most thrilling, attractive and today still widely useable series of competition cars this particular example – chassis ‘1159’ – is one of the 49 ‘customer’ or ‘client’ 2.8 RSRs manufactured by Porsche for the 1973 racing season. The car emerged from the Zuffenhausen company as a code option M491-equipped machine, with M220 limited-slip differential transmission and liveried in Glasurit GP white paint. Its production number is ‘1036628’, and works records reveal that its original Type 911/72 engine number was ‘6930154’. While ‘1159’ now offered here was built originally to an American order, Porsche works records further confirm that the car was eventually sold to experienced Italian Porsche campaigner, marque specialist Ennio Bonomelli. He had been competing in the German cars since the 1960s and in 1968 he had won the Italian GT title in a 911S, and the following year had then seen him contesting major endurance events behind the wheel of a Porsche 906, finishing second in the Coppa Citta di Enna race at Pergusa, Sicily, amongst other strong performances. During 1970 he had raced a Porsche 910, in 1971 finished 2nd in the European GT Championship, and in 1972 had featured in many such events, including the Tour de France Automobile in his latest Porsche 911. Bonomelli had attracted sponsorship from Gulf Oil’s Italian operation, and upon delivery of this Porsche RSR he resprayed its bodyshell in Gulf orange livery, and prepared the car to his own high standards in preparation for the European GT Championship series. He also planned to contest selected rounds of the World Championship of Makes – running in company with the latest works Ferrari 312PBs and Matra-Simca sports-prototypes. He also aimed to contest such race/rally type events as the grueling Giro d’Italia. He became one of the first privateers to uprate his RSR from 2.8 to 3-litres capacity during that initial season, during which his record with ‘1159’ included the following fine finishes: 1973 Monza : 1st in Class - Montlhery, GP de Paris, 3rd in Class - Hockenheim : 6th in class - Giro d'Italia : 2nd in class - Vallelunga : 1st in class. Ennio Bonomelli’s maiden racing season with this car saw him finish 8th in the 1973 European GT Championship. He then retained ‘1159’ for the 1974 season, updating it to the latest mechanical specification and respraying the bodyshell midnight blue. Wheels, wheel-arches, brakes etc were all updated. The result was an extremely successful season which saw Bonomelli emerge as Italian Group 4 Champion. His successes included: 1974 Monza 1,000Kms: 4th in class - Nurburgring 1,000Kms: 6th in class - Hockenheim : 7th in class -Pergusa GT, Sicily : 1st in class - Mugello : 1st in class - Monza : 1st in class - Vallelunga : 1st in class. He was classified 6th in the 1974 European GT Championship. Still ‘1159’ offered here remained competitive into 1975. Bonomelli re-liveried the car in Gulf orange, and campaigned it through the season backed by his armoury of three engines and five alternative gearboxes. His laurels that season included class wins at Mugello and Vallelunga but by the end of ‘1159’s third season of front-line competition it was evident that the ageing car was no longer competitive as the latest Porsche 934 emerged. He found a buyer for the car in Belgium – ‘1159’ passing to a friend of Charles Geeraerts, a driver friend of Signor Bonomelli’s. It was equipped at that time, we understand, with a 2.9-litre engine and 3.0 RSR body configuration. It retained the orange livery of its last race in Bonomelli’s ownership. For the first time the car was road-registered on November 22, 1975 – having previously run under the Italian test plate identification ‘PROVA BS 660’. In 1979 the car passed to its present owner and vendor, a Belgian businessman and automobile enthusiast, who has cherished and ret