In 1922, four examples debuted at the Targa Florio, one of the most iconic races of the 20th century. All four were left unfinished and were readied just before the race. Interestingly, Porsche painted the aluminum bodies red to reduce the risk of being spotted and stolen in Italy. Kolowrat-Krakowsky later added the playing card symbols to ensure the cars could be easily identified.
Three vehicles would compete in the 1.1-liter class, with two clinching a 1-2 victory in the class. The third, driven by Kolowrat-Krakowsky, dropped out due to engine problems. The fourth car sported a larger 1.5-liter engine and was pitted against faster vehicles in the open class. Overall, it finished in 19th place.
While that doesn’t sound impressive, the Italian newspapers fawned over the ADS-R. Why? Despite their compact engines, they stood their ground against rapid machines; the 1.1-liter models averaged 34 mph for the duration of the race, just five mph behind the overall winner, a Mercedes with a considerably more powerful engine.