Intercontinental Rally 2014

The fourth edition of Intercontinental Rally was running between January 20 and February 2, 2014. This is a global take on the off-road event.

1974 PORSCHE 3.0 CARRERA RSR

The Porsche 3.0 Carrera RSR is a car that dominated international GT racing in 1974 and 1975, it blew the competition out of the water in the Trans Am, IMSA, and the FIA World Championship racing series – cementing its place in Porsche history as one of the most important factory race cars ever built by the Stuttgart-based marque.

Porsche built the Carrera RSR on the frame of the road-spec 911 for homologation purposes, much of the body was replaced with fibreglass to save weight and the cockpit held a single seat on the left hand side. The widened wheel arches held racing slicks with a 10 inch wide tire fitted in front and a hefty 14 inch tire at the rear, the engine utilised a twin-plug ignition system and a capacity of 2,992cc.

The engine block was cast from aluminium to keep weight down and a large dry sump oil tank fed fluid to a front bumper mounted oil cooler, allowing the Carrera RSR to remain competitive during endurance racing events. For 1974 the compression ratio was increased from 9.8:1 to 10.3:1 which resulted in 330hp reaching the rear wheels at 8,000rpm.

The 5-speed gearbox for the 1974 car was sourced directly from the 1973 model, it was mated to a new dry plate Fichtel and Sachs sintered clutch that many in the Porsche engineering team felt would better handle prolonged circuit use. Independent suspension was fitted at all four corners with coil over springs and disc brakes were also bolted into place – giving the RSR track performance that doesn’t seem antiquated even today, 40 years later.

With a kerb weight of 900 kilograms (1,984lbs) the Carrera RSR was lightning fast, with its predictable handling and almost bullet-proof reliability it’s undeniable that it forced other GT racing marques to up their game significantly in order to stay competitive. The descendants of the iconic RSR are still being produced and raced by Porsche, the most recent being the 2014 Le Mans entry.

The RSR you see here was purchased in 1974 by Giorgio Schön and his co-driver Giovanni Borri, for the World Manufacturers’ Championship of the same year. It was painted the night it arrived from factory and it was raced the next day at Monza in practice for the 1000 kms – where it achieved fastest time in the GT Class.

The RSR you see pictured here is currently for sale via Maxted-Page and you can click here to read more about it, or enquire after it if you have some room in the collection.

TOYOTA TACOMA POLAR EXPEDITION TRUCK

The standard Tacoma is one tough truck — but if you're trying to make it to the South Pole, you're going to need something a bit beefier. Something like this Toyota Tacoma Polar Expedition Truck. Built specifically for that purpose, this truck made the run to the South Pole and back in just under 40 hours. Special features include a supercharged 4L V6 engine, a specially-tuned transmission, a suspension and undercarriage from Marconi, a steel body, four racing seats, an engine heater, upgraded batteries, a solar panel, and seven (!) fuel tanks with a total capacity of roughly 330 gallons — so while you won't have to fill up often, it's going to be brutal when you do.

Moynet LM75: Three angels for Le Mans

In 1968, André Moynet tried his luck at Le Mans – and failed. In 1975, he returned to the Circuit de la Sarthe with refreshed prototypes and an all-female trio of racing drivers. But this was just the start of the surprises...

Okay, so the United Nations proclaimed 1975 as the Year of the Woman – but that was unlikely to worry Jacky Ickx, Derek Bell and the other veterans of Le Mans. Nevertheless, on 14 June 1975, there was an unknown, blue-painted prototype in the pit lane, with a surprisingly feminine team: Christine Dacremont, Marianne Hoepfner and Michèle Mouton, the latter lady revered today as the most successful female rally driver of all time; but in 1975, her career was in its early stages. 

The life of an action hero

The blue race car with the orange muzzle was a looker, built by André Moynet – a man whose life history, even before 1975, read like an adventure novel. As a successful fighter pilot in the Second World War, he was decorated with military honours and, in 1968, promoted to the rank of Colonel in the French Air Force. When the War had ended, however, he had sought plentiful new challenges: as a test pilot, in politics, and as an ambitious creator of aeroplanes, boats – and eventually racing cars. 

Return to Le Mans

As early as 1968, Moynet wanted to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with his own prototypes, but only qualified as a reserve and did not make it to the starting grid. On his second attempt in 1970, his entry again failed to qualify but finally, in 1975, André Moynet was determined to succeed. His trump card was that he had managed to infect the president of Esso SAF with his sporting enthusiasm, plus he also had a new racing car… with a 2-litre, four-cylinder engine from Chrysler Simca putting out 190HP at 7,000 rpm. Simca wasn’t officially involved and the company allowed Moynet to remove the logo from the cylinder block just before the race. The five-speed gearbox was from Porsche and, more relevant than all this were the aerodynamics. The new Moynet LM75 was aiming for success. 

An unexpected victory

Dacremont, Hoepfner and Mouton were entered in the Group 5, under two-litre class – in direct competition with female duo Marie-Claude Beaumont and Lella Lombardi in the Alpine A441 of Elf-Switzerland. But just one and a half hours into the race, the Moynet started to suffer technical problems and, by the middle of the night, the rev-counter failed. The mechanics had no spare cable so, from then on, the drivers had to judge everything by ear – a real feat when driving on the edge, hour after hour. The legend says that André Moynet had already retired to the bar to drown his sorrows when an excited teammate ran to fetch him: the Moynet LM75 had taken the class lead, in front of the Lola T292. Contrary to all expectations, and seemingly against all odds, Moynet’s car went on to win the two-litre class. It was yet another victory in the life of Moynet.

After the triumph came forgetfulness: for 35 years, the Moynet LM75 slept in a warehouse, before it was gently awakened and carefully made fit for racing. Today, the prototype sits at Atelier 46 in Paris, and is up for sale. This is a unique opportunity to own not just a Le Mans legend with a troubled history, but also the perfect race car for the Le Mans Classic 2014. As for choosing the three-member team of drivers, that will be down to the new owner. 

The Moynet LM75 can be found in the inventory of Atelier 46 in the Classic Driver Market.