We are pleased to offer 1973 Porsche 911 RSR Gulf Porsche tribute s/n 102808, the first of three Porsche RSR “Art Cars” built by Jon Gunderson, well-known for his ground-up Ferrari 246 GT and 246 GTS rotisserie restorations. Indeed, Jon assembled a specialized team of craftsmen, engine builders, interior specialists and mechanics to help him build his many dream cars. RSR tribute s/n 102808 is finished in the legendary 917 Gulf Livery which has been beautifully painted with no vinyl used, all decals and logos have been hand painted, even the Porsche crest. Though this level of work is time-consuming and hence very expensive, this obsession with detail has been carried throughout every step of the build process and so the end result is truly spectacular. Features include hand-formed steel front and rear bumpers, a hand-crafted aluminum hood with a center-fill 100-liter fuel tank with a machined metal fill cap, a beautifully fabricated aluminum ducktail rear spoiler with a 3.5 engine script, custom dual exhaust outlets, 15″ Braid wheels, 930 brakes, Elephant Racing suspension components, fully adjustable black RS-style Recargo bucket seats and a black leather covered roll bar accented with contrasting orange stitching. Power is provided by a freshly-built and fuel-injected Rothsport Racing 3.5L flat-six mated to a Type 915 five-speed manual trans axle and a limited-slip differential. The build began in 2017 and Jon has added app. 4,800 kilometers or ~3k miles since the build was completed in early 2020.
View our video on this car here:
During the build process the body of the donor 911 was treated to a full rotisserie restoration starting with a strip to bare metal, a full primer rust-proofing and was then fitted with hand-crafting steel front and rear bumpers as well as adding hand-formed steel fender flares and a custom fabricated all-aluminum deck lid and ducktail rear spoiler. RSR style reinforcements were added to the front/rear shock towers as well as the torsion tubes. Styling cues include a custom billet aluminum fuel cap, a matching passenger-side oil fill cap, T-handle hood and rear lid latches and RSR script on the rear spoiler. Final exterior touches include all new H₄ headlights, turn signals and lenses as well as drilled door handles and RSR style rubber lid hold downs. A custom lightweight wiring harness was installed to further reduce weight. The exterior was repainted in the legendary 917 Gulf Orange over Light Blue Livery modeled after the 1970 Le Mans 917 Gulf cars. For an overview of the build process of all three Porsche RSR “Art Cars” built by Jon Gunderson click on https://www.rsrrebel.com/
The original 1970’s RSR engine was a 2.8 liter producing roughly 280 horsepower. No expense was spared during the engine build and Rothsport Racing in Oregon was tasked with the job. The Rothsport Racing 3.5L flat-six engine features electronic fuel injection, modified high butterfly throttle bodies, and a Motec engine management system hidden within the case of a Bosch MFI pump with twin CDI unit housings. Once in place the engine was tuned by Sakata Motorsports. The result is a beautiful, powerful and factory looking engine with a Dyno confirmed 355 horsepower. Power is put to the rear wheels via a Type 915 five-speed manual transaxle and a Giken limited-slip differential. A large front oil cooler and a supplemental under-fender oil cooler for added capacity cools the engine through Elephant Racing oil lines with an exterior oil fill.
The lightweight 15″ x 9″ Braid front wheels are mounted with Michelin 215/55/R 15 TB5 Racing Radial X tires and the 15″ x 11″ Braid rear wheels are mounted with Michelin 295/40/R 15 TB5 Racing Radial X tires. The chassis is fitted with Elephant Racing suspension components including Poly bronze bushings, sway bars, shock mounts, and a matched set of torsion bars and Von shocks. Porsche 930 trailing arms have also been added. Porsche 930 finned brake calipers and cross-drilled and vented 930 rotors at all four corners haul it down from high speed. RSR tribute s/n 102808 was corner-balanced by Rothsport Racing after the engine was installed.
The interior is by Autos International, the premier shop for Porsche interiors and is finished in a combination of Alcantara and genuine leather. The dash topper, knee pad, door and quarter panel garnish rails are finished in black alcantara and the seats and steering wheel are wrapped in black leather. The custom roll bar is wrapped in black leather with contrasting orange stitching and matching orange seat belts. The headliner is black Alcantara. The Recaro seats are finished in leather with corduroy inserts and metal grommets. Door panels are RSR style with black leather door pulls. The gauges were rebuilt by Joe’s Speedometer in Reseda. A beautiful single white faced tachometer is flanked by black faced speedometer, oil and fuel gauges plus a Heurer clock. The pedal assembly features a dual master cylinder unit with adjustable balance bar from the 901 Shop in Florida, retailing for $4000. A Wevo short shifter was installed, perfectly complimenting the rebuilt 915 transmission with crisp short shifts. Aluminum pedal boards by RennLine were also installed. The side window glass is thinner and all new glass was installed throughout. And finally, as a homage to the original, a RSR style leather wrapped steering wheel rounds out a beautifully appointed interior. Built as a passion project, no expense was spared and no budget was set, so the attention to detail is on par with the bespoke quality of a Singer.
Over the last four decades we’ve inspected, driven and sold over two thousand exotics. Few match the build quality of this 1973 Porsche 911 RSR Gulf Porsche tribute s/n 102808, which is beautifully built, fully sorted and ready to be driven to your next cars and coffee meet, thanks to fresh mechanicals, strikingly attractive cosmetics and excellent performance. We urge you to go check out the Youtube videos produced for this car to get a better sense of the driving experience and incredible sounds it makes. Hundreds of photos were taken throughout the build process which will be included with purchase as well as written documentation and invoices of the work done. Built at a cost of over $500,000, Porsche 911 RSR Gulf Porsche tribute s/n 102808 is offered for far below the cost of the build and priced to sell at $299,500.