Under Jürgen Barth, Porsche’s customer motorsport program stood ready to create models fit for any type of competition. Barth, of course, was no stranger to the podium. With Jacky Ickx and Hurley Haywood, Barth placed 1st overall in the 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans and was a fixture in global sports car racing.

With the 911 Carrera 4 and Porsche’s motorsport resources at his beck and call, Barth set to work reducing the weight of the car. Porsche did more than simply stripping out creature comforts, sound insulation, and carpeting and replacing body panels with aluminum and fiberglass, however: Unusually for an extreme performance-oriented 911 variant, the Lightweight managed to reduce its mass substantially while retaining a sophisticated all-wheel-drive system.

This rally-style setup is worthy of special note, as it provides yet another link to Porsche’s glorious competition heritage. The Carrera 4 Lightweight was ultimately equipped with the mechanically adjustable all-wheel-drive system derived from that in the Type 953, which also featured in the first 959 Paris-Dakar rally cars (later 959s would use electronically controlled all-wheel-drive). In this system, center and rear differentials were manually adjustable using rotary controls, giving the driver a high degree of control, while two temperature gauges monitored the individual differentials. This advanced setup was as effective as it was complex; by transferring the technology to the 911, Porsche helped justify the considerable expense that went into developing it and testing it in the Paris-Dakar rally.

To further prepare the Carrera 4 Lightweight for racing, it gained a seam-welded tub and fixed windows with sliding panels. Underscoring its track focus, the standard spoiler (which rotated upward at speed) was replaced with a fixed unit for maximum downforce at all times. The stock seats were jettisoned in favor of Recaro race buckets from the 964 Cup cars with factory five-point harnesses, and a Halcon fire-suppression system was fitted. The interior marries race car functionality with production 964, thanks to its integrated roll cage, auxiliary gauges and switches mounted where the radio and climate controls would be, and black fabric-covered sports seats.

Underneath, the suspension was lowered about an inch, and the standard wheels were shelved in favor of staggered six-inch-wide front and eight-inch-wide rear wheels, or optional seven- and nine-inch-wide wheels, as featured on this car. Power came from a version of the Carrera RS’s 3.6-liter flat-six with a modified exhaust and lack of air cleaner, helping it produce 265 horsepower—5 more, in fact, than the engine in the Carrera RS. A special clutch and flywheels were mated to the car’s five-speed manual transmission. Overall, the Carrera 4 Lightweight’s stated weight was a svelte 1,095 kilograms (~2,414 pounds), giving the car a thrilling power-to-weight ratio.

Predictably, the Lightweight was not granted a standard 17-digit identification number and was thus not eligible for import into the United States when new. Instead, all 22 examples followed the same 964 0## sequence, and the car offered here is the 18th serialized example. It was originally delivered to Hans Jürgen Tiemann, who at the time oversaw Porsche Customer-Sport at Weissach. This car features a number of special-order equipment items including Cup 1 RS magnesium wheels, lightweight Kevlar Recaro seats, and Blütengelb (yellow) paint. Notably, this is the only lightweight 964 with a yellow exterior. In addition, this car has been featured in several magazines and was further awarded Best Lightweight at the 2018 Concours Masters at Salon Privé within the 70th Anniversary of Porsche celebration. In 2019, this 911 entered the care of the respected collection of Garage 26 in Miami Florida, where it was treated to additional care and detailing while a Florida title for the car was obtained.

Porsche produced no small number of appealing variants based on the already-excellent 964, but with its uncompromising blend of track-focused performance and sophisticated all-wheel-drive technology, this 1991 911 Carrera 4 Lightweight represents something truly special. As one of only 22 examples produced, and the sole Lightweight finished in yellow, it is a model only a select few enthusiasts will ever be able to add to their collection.

Accompanied by a substantial history file, which includes magazines featuring the car, its odometer displays just 559 kilometers (~348 miles) at the time of cataloguing—making low mileage and an impressive original condition two more additions to its lengthy list of attributes.