People
Roland Kussmaul and the prototype of the 964 RS ‘K47’
Roland Kussmaul is considered the “father” of the 964 RS. He became world-famous as a legendary Porsche race engineer and worked at Porsche for over 36 years. Kussmaul began his career in 1969 as a design engineer before being transferred to road testing in 1973. At the request of Peter Falk, Roland Kussmaul was transferred to the Porsche racing department in 1977, where he worked as a project manager for racing and rally operations, for example with the 911 SC/RS at the Safari Rally in 1983.
As a race engineer, he helped the Porsche 959 to win the Paris-Dakar and, along the way, finished 6th with the tanker and support vehicle. He was head of development for racing and special vehicles and oversaw the Porsche 956 and 962 entries at Le Mans, among other events.
From 1989, Roland Kussmaul was responsible for the development of the Porsche 964 Cup vehicle. When the 964 Cup got off to a successful start, Kussmaul also developed the fascinating 964 RS in the Porsche racing department in Weissach Flacht.
The trials for the 964 RS took place with the test vehicle “K47”. Roland Kussmaul was able to acquire the “forefather” of all 964 RSs in 1993 and still owns the vehicle today.
Exactly 1916 vehicles of the 964 RS were produced in the 1992 model year. The 911 Carrera RS of the generation 964 weighed 1220 KG and reached with its 260PS a top speed of 260 km/h.
A touring version of the 964 RS was also offered, but only 76 vehicles were built.
In the book *Kussmaul K47 Edition*, Kussmaul devotes an entire chapter to the development of the first modern-era Carrera RS.
In a detailed interview, he also explains why there was such a large time gap between the Carrera RS from 1972 and the 964 RS.
PORSCHE 964 – THE BOOK – EDITION KUSSMAUL K47
In February 1991, Porsche announced a true sensation to the press: the new 964 RS. The rightful successor to the legendary 1973 Carrera RS was scheduled for release in the summer of 1991. In honor of 964 RS developer Roland Kussmaul, the special edition “KUSSMAUL K47” is being released to mark the 35th anniversary of this icon, in a limited run of 260 copies. “260” as in the horsepower rating of the 964 RS.
Special features in this book
- Limited to just 260 copies
- Each copy is individually numbered
- All RS series models: 964 RS 3.6, 964 RS 3.6 Touring, 964 RS America, 964 RS 3.8
- All racing variants: 964 Cup, 964 N-GT, 964 RSR 3.8
- The 964 in motorsports with Herbert Linge and the Carrera Cup
- 4 in-depth buying guides for the 964 RS, 964 Turbo 3.3/3.6, 911 Carrera 2, and Carrera 4 models
- Presentation of unknown prototypes
- Virtually Unknown Sales Brochures
- All list prices from 1989 to 1994
- Trends in used car prices for all 964 models between 2018 and 2026
car.tima Modellautos has teamed up with Roland Kussmaul to offer a special promotion. His 964 RS prototype “K47” is available as a 1:18 scale model. All 50 models have been autographed by Roland Kussmaul.
