Much of the mystique of the Porsche 911 is tied to the model’s seemingly boundless versatility. Using the same basic vehicle architecture—and indeed, often the very same chassis design—as a starting point, Porsche can either build the 911 into a capable, yet comfortable, touring car…or transform it into a world-beating racing machine too raw to drive on public roads.

Designed to homologate the Carrera RSR 3.0, this 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0 is as close as one could get to a production 911-based racecar while still being road-legal. Though it shared many basic design points with the earlier Carrera RS 2.7, it was enhanced by the presence of wider Fuchs wheels, reinforced chassis and suspension components, ventilated disc brakes borrowed from the 917, and a larger, aluminum-cased 3.0-liter engine upgraded with new cylinder heads and capable of approximately 230 horsepower in street tune. It was also much, much rarer than its predecessor, with a scant 55 911 Carrera RS 3.0 chassis produced in total.

Although some Carrera RS 3.0 examples were raced in-period by privateer teams, the Grand Prix White over Midnight leatherette chassis offered here lived a fascinating, charmed life that spared it from the ravages of motorsport. As noted in John Starkey’s book on the subject, The Racing Porsche: R to RSR, and previously confirmed by then Porsche test driver, Jürgen Barth, this chassis was designated a Vorführwagen (demonstration car) that was used to sell the car’s capabilities to potential buyers. Following the conclusion of its demonstrator duties, the Carrera RS 3.0 was distributed to Sonauto, the Porsche-owned importer for France. On 14 July 1974 the car was exported to the United States by its first owner, Sydney Butler. He had the car flown to JFK International Airport (in the cargo hold of a 747) and then transported to his home in Memphis, Tennessee. After three years of enjoying the RS, Butler offered the car in December 1977.

Here, fate took an interesting turn: The car was acquired by Butler’s friend Charles Stoddard, proprietor of Stoddard Imported Cars. This Ohio-based firm was an important early American Porsche dealership, and the business, which still exists today, later evolved into a foundational supplier of vintage Porsche parts. Amazingly, this was not Stoddard’s first encounter with this Carrera RS 3.0. He had been in the passenger’s seat of the very same chassis just a few years earlier at the model’s 1974 debut in Germany, when he enjoyed a demonstration ride around the Hockenheimring with Jürgen Barth at the wheel! On 19 December, Stoddard officially purchased the car for himself via his own dealership, as reflected by an original Ohio title. At the time, the odometer displayed just 16,423 kilometers.

Mr. Stoddard pampered the rare Carrera RS, never exposing it to inclement weather, and fastidiously garaging and maintaining it as needed. After retaining possession for nearly 20 years, he sold the Porsche in November 1996 to Japanese collector Motoi Akaishi, and the car remained in Japan until January 2004, when it was purchased from Akaishi by a respected collector based in Chicago. When re-imported to the United States in March 2004, the 911 still exhibited extreme originality, with the original factory-appointed white paint and gold-highlighted Carrera RS script showing beautifully, while the numbers-matching 3.0-liter engine and transmission remained intact.

This owner, just its fourth from new, undertook a few measures to make the car more enjoyable in driving events, including replacing the clutch and rear shock absorbers. In the interest of shoring up the car’s documentation, he contacted Mr. Stoddard and discovered the interesting factory demo history and established chain of ownership. In January 2012, the owner applied for a FIVA passport, and the powerful RS 3.0 was subsequently driven on the famed Tour Auto Rally, a 2,500-kilometer journey through France. After completing the workout, the 911 was delivered to the Porsche specialists at the Autofarm in England for mechanical freshening.

The Carrera RS 3.0 gained its fifth owner from new when it joined the White Collection in 2017. Since joining the collection, the car has enjoyed a careful preservation-focused maintenance regimen, including the correction of paintwork and the rims to factory specifications, and it has been started and run to operating temperature on a monthly basis. It was also fitted with Pirelli tires, noted on the accompanying Porsche Certificate of Authenticity as being present on initial delivery. Consistent with its overall condition, the car displays just 29,452 kilometers (~18,301 miles) at the time of cataloguing. This history of limited road use (with no period wheel-to-wheel racing in its past), coupled with the presence of its numbers-matching engine and gearbox, make this surely one of the best-preserved Carrera RS 3.0s in existence.

By virtue of their scarcity, 1974 911 Carrera RS 3.0 examples do not come to market often, and it is even rarer to find one in such highly original condition with such a well-documented and fascinating history. Sure to be an instant centerpiece of any collection it joins, this one-of-55 homologation special offers its next owner nearly limitless opportunities for exhibition, participation in worldwide rallies and tours, or simple, exhilarating enjoyment on the open road.