One of the greatest rarities of the 964 generation came on the market in 1993.

As the 964 RS had sold very well in Europe, it didn’t seem right for the Americans to come away empty-handed. Porsche remembered that the twentieth anniversary of the birth of the 911 Carrera RS in 1973 was just around the corner and took the opportunity to offer a RS for the US market. It was given the suffix “RS America” to distinguish it from the 964 Carrera RS.

As the Carrera RS was not licenced for road use in America, the car in question was a limited edition based on the Carrera 2 Coupé. Porsche was hoping to team the newcomer up with the “America Roadster”, a Turbo-look Carrera 2 cabriolet with trimmed-back standard equipment, to revive sales in the American market.

The first 911 RS America cars arrived in the United States in April 1992 but were assigned to model year 1993. The vehicle was $10,000 cheaper than the 911 Carrera 2 Coupé. The most striking feature on the “RS America” was the fixed rear spoiler familiar from the 911 Carrera 3.2. The ventilation grids were not, however, black in the 964.

Inside, Porsche used the door panels from the RS alongside the standard sport seats (M383/387) with “Recaro Cord” fabric. Also in use was the sports suspension (M030) with the stiffer turbo springs on the rear axle, Turbo shock absorbers front and rear, and a thicker front stabiliser (22 instead of 20 mm diameter).

Also fitted front and rear were wider 17-inch wheels (M040) on 7-inch-wide rims at the front and 8-inch-wide rims at the rear; the power steering had been jettisoned along with the rear seats. Common standard equipment in the United States such as air conditioning, cruise control, a radio and a sunroof was not included. The front lid was also made of sheet steel rather than aluminium as used in the German RS. The wing mirrors had to be adjusted manually.

The savings compared to the unladen weight of the German version of the Carrera 2 amounted to only about ten kilogrammes and the total weight was thus 1340 kg. The performance was also on a par with that of the German model. Porsche reduced the range of colours to five. The RS America was available in red, black, white, metallic silver and midnight blue metallic.

Porsche sold a total of 701 vehicles in model years 1993 and 1994. The 964 RS America is a sought-after rarity, also on the German market.

You can read all about the 911 RS America in our new book “Porsche Carrera RS 50 YEARS 1972-2022”. It will be published on June 20, 2022 in a limited edition of 500 copies.