Purity can take many forms. In the case of the Porsche 911, purity of function is essential to the sports car’s proverbial DNA. While the 911s built after the original 1964 Frankfurt debut have added breadth, Porsche has continually called back to the car’s original, light, and simple concept.

When the 964-generation arrived in late 1988, it represented the 911’s biggest leap forward. Beneath its more streamlined exterior, with its color-matched bumpers and automatically retractable rear spoiler, the 911’s suspension marked a dramatic departure. Gone were the torsion bars that gave its rear end such audacious handling. Coil springs and shock absorbers provided a more comfortable ride and predictable handling. Power steering and anti-lock brakes helped tame the 911 and make it more suitable for modern daily driving. Even the climate control system was all new, designed to provide far better circulation.

The 911 debuted first in all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 configuration with a rear-drive Carrera 2 arriving a year later. All of this added up to an increasingly complex and forgiving 911, a revision of the car’s original formula that proved popular with buyers and the media alike. The 964 set the stage for the 911’s future. Porsche was not going to let its bread-and-butter evolve into a luxury car, however. In 1992, the 911 Carrera RS debuted as the road-going version of the automaker’s Carrera Cup race car. It was the spiritual successor to the previous Carrera RS and RSR models in that it dispelled with the notion that performance cars needed to likewise be plush and luxurious.

Porsche revised the M64 engine to produce 260 hp and 240 foot-pounds of torque, paired it to a close-ratio G50/10 five-speed manual transmission, and substituted a lightweight single-mass flywheel. The 911 Carrera RS sat lower to the ground and rode on a firmer suspension with adjustable anti-roll bars. Power went to the rear wheels via the 964 Turbo’s ZF-supplied limited-slip differential. Crucially, Porsche also deleted power steering.

The automaker could have stopped there, but the RS was no mere “sport package.” Instead, Porsche went back to basics inside, stripping out sound deadening, the rear seats, power windows, air conditioning, substituting lightweight door panels with simple door pulls instead of levers, and specifying thinner window glass. Deeply bolstered sports seats were standard. The 964 Carrera RS reminded buyers that the 911 was still pure Porsche.

The 911 Carrera RS offered here shows a mere 96 km from new – certainly the lowest mileage example extant. It is astoundingly well kept and presents in as-new condition thanks to exceptional preservation since day one by its caretakers. The Porsche was ordered new by a prominent Dutch musician via his home market importer and built in February 1992 to his specifications: Guards Red over black leatherette upholstery. He selected to take delivery in Germany at the Porsche factory in March 1992. Instead of driving the 911 Carrera RS home, he had it then delivered to a family member in Belgium near the Dutch border. Though it was not driven in Germany beyond the factory, the car still includes its original temporary license plates. Paperwork shows that it was delivered in Zuffenhausen with just 56 test kilometers, having accrued a scant 40 more since delivery.

With the help of the Porsche dealer in Hamburg, Germany, the RS was subsequently acquired by a Belgian lord, who was the first to register the car for road use. Instead of driving it, however, he recognized its significance and chose to preserve it. He registered it first in Belgium, where the purchase took place, and then in Monte Carlo. The lord shuttled the car to his castle in Switzerland and took great pains to have it regularly warmed up and driven, though only to ensure proper operation of its flat-six engine. The car reportedly never left the castle grounds except to visit a Porsche dealer for regular servicing. It was a fairy tale life for a rare, high-performance Porsche.

Acquired by a prominent Porsche collector on the West Coast, the car was only recently imported to the U.S. Today, this outstanding 911 Carrera RS presents in as-new condition and has been treated to a full servicing by the Porsche Experience Center Classic Car Workshop in Atlanta, Georgia, including an oil change and a brake fluid flush. Even its trip odometer has not been reset since being acquired by its first owner more than 25 years ago. The 911 will be delivered with its original paperwork, including service reports, import and export documentation, correspondence between its owners, and its original books and owner’s manuals.

Its Guards Red paint shines brightly, and its spartan leatherette interior straddles the line between road and race car. With only 96 km, it is as close to a new 911 Carrera RS as exists anywhere.