Porsche 911 SC RS
In the early 1980s Porsche was focused mainly on circuit racing, and it never entered its own works team in the Group B World Championship. The rear-wheel-drive 911 SC RS, run by Britain’s Prodrive with Rothmans sponsorship, still left its mark on the asphalt rallies of the era.
Porsche 911 SC RS — indicative
Episode 7 — The Underdogs: Toyota, Opel, Nissan, Mazda, Renault, Citroën, Porsche & Ferrari
The Rothmans 911 among the underdogs of Group B.
911 SC RS: the last classic Porsche rally car
Porsche built a small series of 911 SC RS road cars to homologate the car in Group B. The best-known entrant was Prodrive, the Banbury company founded in 1984 by David Richards and Ian Parry, which ran Rothmans-sponsored cars in the European and Middle East championships. Henri Toivonen drove for the team in the 1984 European championship. After a difficult start he won the Costa Smeralda — on gravel — the Ypres 24 Hours and Madeira, and led the championship, but a back injury cost him several events and he finished runner-up to Carlo Capone (Lancia 037). He also won the 1000 Pistes, a round of the French championship. In the World Championship, Béguin finished third in Corsica in 1985. See Rothmans Porsche and Prodrive.
National championships
The 911 SC RS was also a Belgian champion’s car. Patrick Snijers won the 1984 Belgian championship in his own 911 SC RS, and Robert Droogmans won the Landen, Lucien Bianchi and Condroz rallies that year in a Belga Team car. Older 911 SCs won the Belgian title in 1982 (Marc Duez) and 1983 (Snijers) and the 1983 Swiss title (Eric Ferreux); see European and national championships.
Porsche never officially fought for the Group B world title, but the Rothmans/Prodrive 911 SC RS won on asphalt in the European championship and took a podium in Corsica.
The 959
Porsche’s four-wheel-drive 959 was conceived under the Group B rules, but it never started a rally in the World, European or national championships; its competition career was in desert rally raids.
Results in the World Rally Championship
World Rally Championship podiums of the car (all evolutions), year by year (1982–1986). win 2nd 3rd
0 WRC wins · 3 podium finishes, 1982–1986
Photo gallery 4 photos
Historic Group B cars photographed at events, demonstrations and museums; each caption states where and when.
Further resources
- FIA homologation: Porsche 911 SC (Group B form B-207) EN · archive
The FIA's homologation record with dates, extensions and the scanned form. - Porsche Newsroom: The conquerors of curves EN · article
Porsche's history of its Tour de Corse cars, including the 911 SC RS from the museum. - Prodrive: our history EN · article
Prodrive's company history, which began with the Rothmans Porsche 911 SC RS in 1984. - The Drive: Porsche SC/RS, a tale of two Rothmans EN · article
The 911 SC RS rally car and the Rothmans programme run by David Richards.
More from Cars
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN), Prodrive — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prodrive
- Wikipedia (EN), Henri Toivonen — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Toivonen
- Wikipedia (EN), 1985 World Rally Championship — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_World_Rally_Championship
All text is original writing for Grouve Sports Management Group, based on the sources above. Facts checked on 21 October 2026.
Follow Grouve Sport on YouTube — rally Shorts now, Group B documentaries soon.
SubscribeThumbnail photos on this page: HombreDHojalata (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); 先従隗始 (Wikimedia Commons, CC0); Croquant (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); SG2012 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Alf van Beem (Wikimedia Commons, Public domain); SG2012 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0).