BEYOND THE OBVIOUS

Porsche's 912 was lighter and more nimble than the earliest 911s. KAMM's fully carbon-panelled 912c takes that to the extreme – with double the power

- 

Of course, I realise this may sound like a broken record in these parts but I am a bit of a Porsche 911 fan. Not necessarily an air-cooled purist (for me, the sweet spot for usability, talent and value lies in the 997 generation) though I'll admit that one of the most memorable drives of my life came at the wheel of a '73 Carrera RS 2.7. Naturally I'm aware of its many foibles, and I'm not the kind of wheelman who manages, shall we say, always to exploit all of them positively. But its great steering, sense of purpose, unburstable build quality, focus on practicality over luxury, and (not least) that soundtrack make the 911 a true great. I even quite like the way some of them look.

Those foibles, though. Driving a 911 - any 911 - hard rarely comes without a flutter in the stomach, at least at some point. Even Porsche knew it needed taming, hence the longer wheelbase from 1968 (see Octane 269), and front bumper overriders as ballast to reduce the pendulum effect. But what if that rear-mounted engine could hang a little less far out beyond the driven axle? Worth a change in soundtrack?

All this is mentioned because the car in these pictures is not a 911. It's a 912, though a heavily modified one, and is definitely worth the change in soundtrack, as we'll see. Regular readers might be familiar with the KAMM 912c that appeared in issue 244. This goes a step further: it has a full carbonfibre body and weighs a scant 700kg, give or take. That's 50kg less than the previous version, which featured carbonfibre opening panels and front wings, and it’s some 270kg less than a standard steel 912.