MCP MOTORSPORT TESTIMONIALS
SUPERCHARGED 964RS: OVERKILL OR MEGA-THRILL?
For many of us, the 250bhp of a standard 964 is sufficient to slake our thirst for speed, claims Johnny Tipler. Add another l0bhp for an RS, plus attendant suspension mods, and you have a car that really does the business. They're still compliant beasts though, the 964s. But bolt on a supercharger and you have a fight on your hands.
And that's exactly what Martin Pearse has stashed away at his MCP Motorsport base at Sheringham on the north Norfolk coast: a supercharged 964RS. He acquired it from Sportwagen Engel, another supercar specialist operating at Andernach near the Nurburgring. Prior to that it was run by a German motor magazine for 10,000kms, and then for most of its life by a single private owner who took the mileage up to 48,000kms. Despite the German plates, it's already UK registered. It just needs right-hand drive headlights.
By no stretch of the imagination can any RS be described as a wolf in sheep's clothing, and there's no getting away from its purposeful stance. Finished in a deep shade of burgundy, the exterior of this one is discrete enough to belie the power lurking beneath the engine cover. Apart from the Speedline split-rim wheels, which don't suit the car, the telltale sign that there's something special about it is the 3.2 Carrera-style tea-tray wing. A glance through the slats reveals all: it's there to accommodate the massive intercooler that sits atop the engine.
So far it looks pristine, and the cabin interior is just as good. The lightweight RS bucket seats hug you up enough and confer a trackday aura to the driving experience. You've already taken it on board that this model is bereft of all but the essentials; no rear seats, plastic window winders and lightweight doors that shut with a most un-Porsche-like clang.
The Burgundy Bruiser was acquired new in November 1991 by the specialist German magazine Tuning to establish just how quickly a 964 could be made to perform. They could have stripped out a standard 3.6-litre 964 and saved a few Deutschmarks, but an RS had much of the work done already; weighing 1,229kg and with a power-to-weight ratio of 215bhp per ton, it covered the 0-60mph dash in 5.3sec. However, the German journos had bigger burgers to bash. They'd had their eyes on the Cetoni K29 supercharger kit, which was designed for the 964 and had been extensively bench-tested by its manufacturers (now under the TechArt banner, incidentally). So they tasked veteran engine and race preparation specialist, Rolf HeidI, with fitting it.
To start with, HeidI blueprinted the engine at his Langenfeld premises, then plumbed in the Cetoni blower and the huge 0.6 bar intercooler. On the dyno it produced an alarming 462bhp at 6,800rpm, with 550Nm of torque. Prudently, a bigger clutch and bigger front brakes were installed, and in the fettling process, the chassis was set up by Max Moritz, which involved fitting Bilstein adjustable dampers.
Rolf HeidI evaluated his handiwork over 600 miles before handing it over to the magazine, which promptly carried out tests. They proved a point covering 0-to-62mph in 3.8sec, 0 to l00mph in 8.4sec, and 0 to 125mph in 12.2sec. With four-wheel drive, the 959 was a tenth quicker to 62mph, but, amazingly, the Cetoni 964 would even beat a new 612bhp Carrera GT by a tenth of a second to that speed. 'It's reputed to be the quickest RS ever built,' Pearse asserts.' That's all very well on the long expanses of Bedford Autodrome, but in a real world context how valid is the performance of the Carrera Kompressor? Our route takes in a few straights where we can at least get a hint of the potential, plus a variety of long bends and some nicely banked tight corners too.
Bringing the power in gradually creates an inexorable rush of speed. Bide your time till the next open straight. Then you gun it, and the punch is massive, instantaneous, with no lag whatsoever. And it carries on going until, well, in theory you hit the rev limiter, but actually you pretty soon run out of road and have to back off. That's where those big brakes come into play, hauling it back into line and giving out the messagethat you really could stop on a sixpence in an emergency. In the turns it corners flat, hugging apexes precisely to order, as you'd expect of a well set-up RS.
You have to ask the question though, whether fitting a compressor to an RS isn't over-egging the pudding. Martin Pearse thinks not, especially if someone else has done the job already 'A supercharger is the best way of tuning a Carrera 2 or Carrera 4, as it's a bolt-on installation and doesn't involve too much work. The point about this car is that it's on a par with any supercar, performance-wise, but it's a third of the money and without the fearsome technical complications and repair costs. It's also, let's face it, a bit different.
Fact File
Model 964 RS Cetoni Supercharger
Year 1991
Mileage 48.280kms (30.000 Miles)
Price £37.995
Background Magazine-sponsored, specialist-built to extract maximum power from an RS
For Huge fun factor; probably the fastest RS in the world
Against Modifications translate as trackday special; higher insurance premium
Verdict Could be seen as a gilded lily, but blown RS is a monstrous performer
Where is it?
MCP Motorsport is at Sheringham, Norfolk.
Viewing by appointment only
Tel: 01263 822481
www.mcpmotorsport.com
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