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FS: Ex-Reventlow Early 911 "Hot-Rod", Some Assembly Required
1972 911E, VIN 9112200772; matching numbers engine and transmission. Originally owned by Lance Reventlow, creator of the Scarab sports-racing cars and the first U.S.-built Formula 1 cars in 1960. Modified for Richard Reventlow (brother of Lance) in 1972 to 2.7 RS specs using Porsche factory-original parts. One of the very first “hot-rod” street 911s, built without regard for cost and preserved for decades.
Modifications by Troutman & Barnes, engine by Richie Ginther: 2.6-liter (short-stroke 2.8) on original case, titanium rods, RSR injection pump. LSD, 915 close-ratio gearbox with oil pump. Roll bar, Momo Prototypo steering wheel, H4 headlights, RSR Bilstein struts, Turbo calipers and rotors, 22 & 28mm torsion bars, 7&8-inch factory alloy wheels, factory RSR “Penske” rear spoiler plus factory ducktail. Factory plastic fuel cell, 917 fuel pump, factory 10,000-rpm tach, 911ST butt-welded fender flares, many other trick mods.
Driven carefully for years in PCA driving events but never raced, never crashed, no rust, 46,650 miles. Complete, good condition, disassembled, ready to restore, engine and transmission never apart, ran well when parked. Stored properly in Boulder, Colorado. $80,000. For more, including a 32-page PDF description, contact wvolan@gmail.com. More than 90 additional detail shots at https://www.dropbox.com/s/9c91c75rir...tails.pdf?dl=0
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This silver 1972 911E Coupe was the last vehicle owned by Lance Reventlow, creator of the Scarab sports-racing cars and the first U.S.-built Formula 1 cars in 1960. Lance died in a light-plane crash in Aspen, Colorado, in July 1972. His half-brother Richard purchased the car from his estate that September. When he picked up the car at his house on Red Mountain in Aspen, there were numerous Mozart cassettes in it, which led Richard to name the car “Mozart”. Richard had connections at the Porsche factory in Stuttgart, and with factory driver Jürgen Barth, he decided to upgrade the stock 911E 2.4 engine (#6221199) to 2.7 RS specifications. A parts list was compiled by the racing department, where Richard had befriended the lady in charge of racing parts, Frau Baer. He had given her an Hermés silk scarf on a previous visit; he also spoke and wrote fluent German, and Frau Baer spoke only German. This was before today’s electronic communication, when it was wiser to go to the factory directly to speak with people who knew how to rebuild Mozart to 2.7 RS specs. The parts list remains in Mozart’s archives given to Greg Volan (Rocky Mountain Region, PCA) when he and Wendy bought Mozart in the late 1970s. The list is comprehensive, and most of the details had been forgotten since 1972.
After the parts were air-freighted to the U.S., Richard drove the car to Los Angeles, to Troutman & Barnes, who had originally fabricated the Scarab race cars. Dick Troutman still worked in the shop on Clausen Avenue in Culver City where he and Tom Barnes had worked in the 1960s. Tom had retired to Maui, and Dick now had Peter Miles as his assistant. Peter’s father, Ken Miles, had laid out the chassis for the Scarab and was the top driver for the Shelby Cobra team until his untimely death in 1966 while testing a Ford J-Car. Just up the alley was Richie Ginther’s shop, and Harold Broughton, whose experience and skill are legendary, rebuilt the 911 motor there to 2.7 specs. Mozart was lightened by removing superfluous parts: the rear seats came out, and a 911R muffler (half the weight of a stock one) and a plastic gas tank went in, along with very light Corbeau racing seats; among other suspension changes, a cross-brace was added between the front shock towers. A front oil cooler was installed, a proper radiator instead of the simple stock tube in the wheelwell. And on and on.
The engine produced a good 275 bhp. Steel fender flares were butt-welded via Dick Troutman’s bodywork skills, and the car was repainted by Junior (Junior’s House of Color), at that time a celebrated painter who learned his trade from George Barris. Frau Baer called one day and said she had received the first order of whale-tail spoilers fabricated by their race shop. Richard immediately ordered one to replace the “duck-tail” spoiler used on the RS cars. What a score! Junior painted the spoiler, and Dick installed it.
After Mozart was finished, Richard was driving it from Aspen to L.A. Entering Nevada, he crossed the state line on I-15, saw a Nevada Highway Patrol car, and thought nothing of it. As he got close to Las Vegas, he slowed to about 90 mph. Suddenly there was another patrol car behind, lights flashing. Richard pulled over, and the officer came up with the usual requests. From the papers he noticed the registration to Lance. He also noticed that this was no standard Porsche; he was interested in all the modifications, including the roll bar and racing seat belts. When Richard innocently asked why he had stopped him, he said his colleague at the state line had clocked him at about 140 mph but had insufficient space to catch up with him. Amazingly, the trooper gave Richard a verbal warning, indicated that Mozart was safe for driving at those speeds, and wished him a good day! There were other exciting moments, particularly as the car’s exhaust note came via the straight-through 911R muffler, creating what was probably an offensive noise to the average motorist. Richard also remembers Grady Clay doing some incredible time over Independence Pass from Aspen to Twin Lakes in Mozart.
Here are photos of the car in its current, disassembled but complete condition.
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More photos in next post.
