Aircooled VW South Africa

The most successful race-rallying Porsche of all time is up for sale privately by H&H Classics. The price is said to be well in excess of £1 million (about $1.3 million).

The right-hand-drive Carrera, a 2.7 liter lightweight model, competed in more than 40 rallies — 14 of which were international. It was acclaimed as the most successful by Classic 911 magazine. It even had a pop song written about it and its driver, Cathal Curley. “Hey CB,” released in 1974, was composed by Phil Coulter, the Irish writer of Eurovision hit songs such as “Puppet on a String” and “Congratulations.”

The Carrera was the Team Prize winner in the 1973 RAC Rally, and then won three International Rallies the following year – a better performance than Porsche’s own cars.

Apart from featuring on DVDs about rallying, the car was filmed for a documentary due to be shown by the UK’s Channel 4 at 7 p.m. on August 21.

“This car is the stuff of motor racing history,” said Dominic Lyncker, managing director of Warrington-based H&H Classics, which has its private-sale garage in Surrey.

After its rally career, the Carrera was exported to South Africa, converted into a 3.4-liter RSR and later stored for 23 years. In 2010, it was purchased by RS specialist Mark Waring, and painstakingly restored over two years, getting back its original Irish number plate AUI 1500.

H&H is known for its record-setting auctions as well as private transactions. Pound-denominated sales may be helped by the currency’s decline against the dollar, making items relatively cheaper for overseas buyers.