The older 911s take a delicate touch and some sizable cojones to get the most of—especially when some 700 horsepower are delivered just to the rear wheels. Courageous Rupert Schwaiger might not be the youngest buck on the hillclimb scene, but he and his green Porsche are one of the more recognizable cars in this sport, and it’s not because of the loud color scheme.

It comes down to a platform with all the right ingredients. The chassis comes from a basic 1988 911, with a 964 RS’ rear end and a 993 GT2 Evo’s carbon fiber body panels all around. That featherweight platform, weighing just 2,266 pounds, is powered by one of the meanest sounding turbo motors in existence—a 3.5-liter boxer with twin Garrett turbos pushing an undeniable 640 horsepower at 5,100 rpm. Even more impressive is the way the engine builds thrust; generating 442 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm! It might as well have an electric motor with that sort of shove from low down in the rev range.

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That tractable power delivery comes down to camshafts from a GT2 Evo, Carillo conrods, a racing exhaust manifold, and a specialized air-to-air intercooler with shorter runners for improved response. That power is sent through a 997 RSR’s sequential gearbox, metered out by a multi-stage Racelogic traction control system, and administered to the asphalt through 335-section Avon tires. That divine combination means a sprint to 60 mph in a mere 2.8 seconds, and a 7.8-second romp to 120 mph.

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Just as impressive as the acceleration is the car’s composure over bumps and its ridiculous braking performance. Thanks to KW 3-way adjustable coilovers with a sufficient amount of travel to soak up imperfections on the road’s surface, Schwaiger seems fairly comfortable hustling the bloodthirsty Porsche around on these narrow Austrian roads. Braking performance is strong and Schwaiger looks just as confident in this department, which he can attribute, in part, to the Conti-Teves racing ABS system and 295-section tires on either end of the front axle. Oh, that enormous rear wing, as well as the rear-engine layout, might play a part here. This car has some stunning all-around performance.