guys this is a great thread that has a number of different elements / directions :)
I have tried to summarise the main ones where there is concensus and where there are still questions.
consensus I think is that
[*]there is no doubt that the winner of the TF in 1973 was car #588 R6 race number 8 driven by Muller and van Lennep
[*]there is also no doubt that this car is the "Kitchak" car not the car in the Museum
[*]a RSR came third and another one sixth and at least one of them was a substitute car after a race car and possibly a practice car were`crashed by Pucci
less certain is the following
The contempoary "porsche Sport 73" shows car 107 as the third place car diven by Kinnunen and Haldi implying that Steeckkonig and Pucci were in car 9
However other photos show the opposite including the colour photo ealier in this thread of car 9 sourced from the RS book amongst other places. For what it is worth Minichamps are just releasing a model of car#107 and they say it was the Pucci car that came 6th as do the race results on the TF site and elsewhere.
I think the contemporary Porsche Sport photo or caption are wrong.
The colour photo of car#9 clearly shows a 72 type feature of a fender mounted oil tank but it appears` to be a 73RSR in other respects and looks like it has black light surrounds and the photo of #107 show 72 tub features`such as chrome light surrounds and an opening rear window.
At least one of these cars was made up from a pracice car. i believe that was car #107 and one set of results I have seen show the chassis number as #02 a renumbersed 2.5S race car. This is not a car listed in the RS book but is consistent with reports of old race cars being updated and renumbered to take advantage of the new RS`homologation
The identity of the practice car that was updated`is not clear. It may be the same as the origial RSR mule that was debued in Austria in June 72 as red car #5 entered by Strahle Motor Sport to hide factory involvement. This is the car on pp 53 and 54 of the RS`book and I think again on pp109. Strahle also ran at least 1972 1 2.5S in europe but the #5 car had significantly wider rear fenders ( as well as a prototype ducktail). The body shape is very similar but that is not conclusive. It would also fit the description of a "mongrel" starting life probably as a 2.5S ( or maybe something even earlier) and then becoming a RSR prototype and if I am correct being given the number 911 360 0002 - a car that does not even exist on the official records! (as does 001 the Zasada` rally car)
The mismatch of the Martini colours between the bonnet and scuttle of that car in the contempory photo above pointed out earlier is puzzling and is another clue to support that this was the rebuilt practice car
That does not explain the apparent 72 shell on the #9 car. That car is supposed to be R2 #20 made in October 72. There is documentary evidence that at least 4 and maybe more of the cars from chassis #11 onwards were made with 72 shells. Some of the photos that were released with the release of RS show this if you look hard including the signal yellow car used in the 73 model year brochure. Therefore it is possible that the cars up to Chasis #20 had 72 shells ( excluding #19 R1 as it was suposed to be a S rebuild and contempory photos in Nov 72 do not show an oil door). Also some of the cars used for brochures`in the #11 to#18 range do not have oil doors in the photos but interestingly most of the photos are from the other side
R2, along with R1 ( documented`as a S rebulid) debued at the rally tour de corse in Nov 72 The contempory photo of R2 #20 does not show the oil tank but show black horn grills and a crudely fashioned rear fenders (you can easily see the spot welds and the two parts. see pp 162 of the RSbook)
That does not explain what part #17 now at Gunnar racing plays in all of this either- was it yet another car that may have been #107 or was it the other practice car that was crashed by Pucci???. Given that it was a M472 and the white / red`car used in the sales brochures`my guess is that it is not #107 but the other practice car crashed by Pucci.
that leaves the museum car. it is not the winner. It may be #9 chassis #20 R2 which would also make it a tour de course car and the car from the original Paul ricard testing. However if that is the case has it had a serious modification to remove the oil tank and opening from a 72 position to a 73 position to make it look "correct" ????? a very close examination would be fun;)
