RE: 911 Carrera RS: PH Heroes

[s m]

Niffty951 said:

I have to question the sanity of Porsche in offering this factory 2.7 RS up to people waiting to drive the new gt3 rs.

I've never driven either car here but conjuring my treasured memory of 5 minutes behind the wheel of a plexiglass lightened, 3.6 endowed, 1976 SC and imagining the comparative overweight, overtyred, numbness of anything else sporty I've ever driven. I can't imagine it being flattering to step out of it into a modern gt3.

You could say the same comparing the RS to the older 911R maybe though

Or maybe it's like the recent 'best M3?' discussion - people now prefer a mix of modern day accoutrements and older style 'feel' and would plump for a car from the middle rather than the older homologation car?
Hard to say without driving them all and there's little chance of that for the majority of us.
I wouldn't go misty-eyed over the old Sportomatic a friend bought in the 80s for very little but I suspect it's worth a lot now if the 1/4 million pound one sold recently is anything to go by - my friend's 944 Turbo is a great car by comparison for a fraction of the price
The RS that Derek Bell drove in 2008 in the CAR video was worth about £180,000 supposedly - even he didn't think it was worth it. Quite a rise in value since then no doubt

[Mike-tf3n0]

I'm going to have to have my three ha'pence! Having been involved in motorsport and historic racing car restoration (Lynx and Prowess) for nearly thirty years I have been fortunate enough to drive a huge number of eye watering classics covering most Porsches up to the mid 80's and including two 2.7 Carrera RSs and, if you want more power, an original four speed 911 Turbo. The first Carrera was in the early 70s when it was still very fresh and I remember it for that lovely blend of performance, balance, delicacy, exhaust note etc etc, it really was a car that you put on, very intimate and involving. The second car was very tired and in need of major restoration. The four speed Turbo, since I mentioned it, was one of the few cars I have driven that made me nervous, massive, intoxicating power that arrived with a bang. To call a 2.7 RS a Beetle is simply churlish, ridiculous, you only have to work on one to see that the car bears no relation to it's distant ancestor save for being rear engine and air cooled. It had evolved and developed to such an extent that it really was completely different, far more complex and sophisticated than any Beetle. The mystique that surrounds them today is not an accident but a reflection of the greatness, on and off the track, of that model as judged by thousands of informed enthusiasts and competitors. If I had the pocket for it, and bearing in mind all the different cars I have driven, the two cars I would want in my dream garage are the Jaguar XKSS and the Porsche Carrera 2.7 Carrera RS. Nuff said!!

[PistonBroker]

Richard A said:

Try this YT vid of a fast, well driven Nordschleife circuit in a fairly standard 3.0 SC . If you don't get it after that, well...

Fantastic stuff, thanks for sharing.

[dinkel]

The car is a testament of how cars were and will never be.

[73RS]

I couldn't afford a real one, so bought the far cheaper alternative of a 1972 2.4 which has a proper 2.7 engine, and sorted suspension and brakes. Lovely to drive, always the oldest at track days....almost holds its own.

[SamC63]

I owned the ex Desie McArtney Tour of Ireland winner. GIA 6; one of apparently 14 RHD Leichtbaus. Did some sprints and hillclimbs and won a few but basically it was just a nice road car but nothing particularly special in those days! I believe the car is worth over £1m today; I sold it for.... £5k. I guy came to me with a better than new 246 gts with chairs and flares & 3k. I said "who wants that crap?" Back to the future had not yet been released......

[Cheib]

SidewaysSi said:

Only issue with these cars is rust which limits their real world usability in the UK. And the cost of repairing that rust...

Bit of a thread resurrection on a quiet Sunday evening. I nearly bought one in 2002 but was put off by the guy at Autofarm who said the one they had for £60k was too much money. A year ago I righted that wrong a bought a 2.7 RS Touring…I’ve done about 3k miles in it. Obviously a lot more money but I was absolutely clueless about these cars back then, would have probably bought a bad one (or even a fake….there were apparently fake RS’s in the 80’s) and almost certainly would have probably had to have it restored…..which even then wasn’t cheap.

Yes you can’t use it with salt on the road but it’s been used for all sorts and done a couple of sessions at Milbrook in it so it’s seen some decent use. Next year I am taking over to Ireland for a two day event over some of the West of Ireland rally stages which it raced when it was a rally car back in the 70’s. Hopefully will do a trip to the Alps too.

Edited by Cheib on Sunday 12th December 21:56

[Cheib]

SidewaysSi said:

Only issue with these cars is rust which limits their real world usability in the UK. And the cost of repairing that rust...

Bit of a thread resurrection on a quiet Sunday evening. I nearly bought one in 2002 but was put off by the guy at Autofarm who said the one they had for £60k was too much money. A year ago I righted that wrong a bought a 2.7 RS Touring…I’ve done about 3k miles in it. Obviously a lot more money but I was absolutely clueless about these cars back then, would have probably bought a bad one (or even a fake….there were apparently fake RS’s in the 80’s) and almost certainly would have probably had to have it restored…..which even then wasn’t cheap.

Yes you can’t use it with salt on the road but it’s been used for all sorts and done a couple of sessions at Milbrook in it so it’s seen some decent use. Next year I am taking over to Ireland for a two day event over some of the West of Ireland rally stages which it raced when it was a rally car back in the 70’s. Hopefully will do a trip to the Alps too.

It is a ridiculously good road car on typical B/country roads ….it’s plenty fast enough to to keep up with traffic and an absolute joy to pedal once the roads get interesting. It’s hard to comprehend what it must have felt like nigh on 50 years ago Lucky enough to to own a 991.2 GT3, barely got driven for three months over the summer, totally smitten with the RS.

Edited by Cheib on Sunday 12th December 22:03

[aeropilot]

Cheib said:

A year ago I righted that wrong a bought a 2.7 RS Touring…