Porsche 911 SC RS 1984

By the early 1980s, Porsche's most significant sporting successes were being achieved in endurance racing, where prototypes derived from the 911 and competing in the Grand Touring class continued to score victories. The 911 was a versatile model that also excelled in other disciplines, including rallying, a fact demonstrated by the RS and SC 2.7 and 3.0 models in previous years. Porsche's sponsor Rothmans, with whom the company was associated for circuit racing, asked the Stuttgart-based firm to develop a 911 suitable for Group B homologation to gain more visibility in off-road events. The result was the 911 SC RS.

In 1982, the FIA merged Groups 4 and 5 into Group B, accepting cars derived from series production but allowing a greater degree of freedom for modifications. The Porsche-Rothmans team chose not to compete in the World Championship events, where prototypes such as the Lancia 037 dominated and four-wheel drive was becoming the norm, a technology which Porsche was not ready yet to adopt.

The brand decided to participate in the European Rally Championship (ERC), facing competition such as the 037 and the Renault 5 Turbo. The 911 RC RS shared the characteristics of the previous 3-litre 911 SC models, modified to comply with new regulations regarding bodywork and increased power.

However, the car initially suffered from teething problems, resulting in bad luck, defects and early retirements, despite the preparations made with David Richards' company, and the choice of drivers of the calibre of Henri Toivonen, who drove for the official team in 1984, avoiding participation in the championship races in which the Lancia 037 competed.

Throughout the year, the ERC calendar comprises around fifty events providing the opportunity for drivers to score points in the general classification, but drivers can only participate in a maximum of ten races. Henri Toivonen participated in nine of them, starting with two Spanish events, the Costa Brava and Costa Blanca rallies, during which the car's fragility forced him to retire due to accidents or breakdowns.

Things improved in the next two events in France, the Rallye des Garrigues and the Critérium Alpin-Behra, in which he regained ground with a second and third place overall, while at the Irish Rally, also sponsored by Rothmans, an issue with the gearbox led to another withdrawal. Toivonen redeemed himself by winning the Rally Costa Smeralda and finishing second in Albena, Bulgaria. He then scored two important victories in Belgium in the 24 Hours of Ypres Rally and in Portugal in the Madeira Wine Rally, collecting the points that secured him second place in the world rankings behind Italian Carlo Capone in a Lancia 037. Between these two successes, the SC RS also won the 1000 Pistes Rally in France, a race that did not count for the European Championship. The 911 SC RS racing car enjoyed further success racing in the lesser-known Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), with driver Saheed Al-Hajri winning the Dubai and Jordan rallies in this car in 1984 and 1985, respectively. While in 1987 it finished fourth and second overall, winning in Jordan, Kuwait and again in Qatar.

The Finnish driver's name is tragically linked to Group B cars. He lost his life in 1986 during an accident in Corsica while driving a Lancia Delta S4. This accident, along with the one that claimed the life of Attilio Bettega in 1985 while driving a 037, were two of the tragedies that led the FIA to eliminate Group B in order to stop the escalation towards ever more powerful prototype cars. Prior to becoming a Lancia driver in 1985, Henri Toivonen was part of the Talbot team and then, during the 1982 and 1983 seasons, the Rothmans team, with which he continued to collaborate in 1984, driving the Porsche 911 SC RS in the European Championship, whilst also gaining initial experience with the Lancia 037. During his career, Toivonen won three world titles, twice winning the RAC Rally of Great Britain, in 1980 with the Sunbeam Talbot Lotus and in 1985 with the Lancia Delta S4. It was with the latter that he also won the Monte Carlo Rally, the opening event of the 1986 season, although he did not finish the season.