The 993 RS article in Autocar....anyone have it?

[johnny senna]

Chaps,

I remember reading about an article that Autocar did a few years back along the lines of "the best cars of all time".

In it, the 993 RS came second to the McLaren F1. Does anyone have a copy of this they can scan? Or maybe a link to it on the web?

TIA

[johnny senna]

I've just done a PH forum search and the article I mean has been mentioned a few times, especially by Zubin. Have you got the article, mate? The ranking of the cars was based on votes by famous blokes, racing drivers etc.

I also found this by Dom, posted in 2002:

domster said:

Hi Guys I got the Porsche Autocars off Bennno last night. I won't read the Boxster articles/tests/comparisons, so if a Boxster owner wants them, email me or reply here. I am going to Pie on the Beach, so if you catch me today (won't check tomorrow) I will bring with them along. Steve-p. I assume you don't want the Boxster stuff. I only want a few mags with the RSs in etc. so there will be at least 20-30 left over, either of general Porsche interest or 911 content. You can have these, or just the 993 ones if you want. Cheers Domster

Maybe you have the article Dom?

[clubsport]

Sorry JS...haven't got a scanner......

The article is hopeless anyhow, 2/3rds of the page is a picture of Frankels own car..the written part is almost bizarre.. as in, "it feeds it's power through what is probably the best 6 speed gearbox in the world" Eh?

I believe Roygarth has Frankels old car,,, at the time of the article the car would have had rear seats and comfort armchairs upfront....now I believe it has a proper RS spec.
Maybe if he had a slightly more focussed car the RS may have come 1st ??

The only saving grace is a comment from Walter Rohrl.

" The 1st time i drove the RS, it felt like i was in a proper race car, the turn in was so good.the gearbox so slick and the performance so strong that it was hard to believe it was still road legal.
In fact it only had 19bhp over the standard car (??? his words), but because it weighed 100kg less and the handling was so good, it felt much quicker.It was also exceptionally easy to drive on the limit and i lapped the ring in 8 mins 10 secs. Despite this it is still a comfortable everyday road car. Just look at the price of a secondhand car to see how much people love them"

Clearly Walter was so impressed he recently bought an '88 3.2 to use for that pure 911 experience.

[johnny senna]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for that. I'm a bit disappointed the artcle was a little crap.

Mind you, the 'Ring time isn't bad for a 300 BHP car. I wonder what an uprated 993 RS with modified engine and suspension could do?

[clubsport]

I would refer to Andre on S9's for RS around the ring questions. I don't know if you have driven it, but some compliance in the suspension is required at the ring. A modified car that is quick at Bedford/ Brands may be compromised on the nordsclieffe.
How do you find the car on the road,,,any quicker than your Boxta on a B road ??? Obviously you will notice the difference when you get it on track.

[roygarth]

Hi Johnny

I've got the article and, as Paul/Clubsport suggested, the car that stars in it! I persuaded Haymarket 'back issues' to give it to me. As an RS owner it's a nice thing to have. I've also got Classic & Sportscar with my actual car in plus Performance Car and Car, or is it Top Gear, from 1995 when they tested the RS. PC achieved 0-60 in 4.6 and 100 in 11.2!

Frankels car did have Manual Sport Seats and rear seats. I've got the correct Reccaro Buckets but left the rear seats for now.

Email me your email/post address and I'll either send or scan email the articles to you.

Piers

[johnny senna]

clubsport said:

I would refer to Andre on S9's for RS around the ring questions. I don't know if you have driven it, but some compliance in the suspension is required at the ring. A modified car that is quick at Bedford/ Brands may be compromised on the nordsclieffe. How do you find the car on the road,,,any quicker than your Boxta on a B road ??? Obviously you will notice the difference when you get it on track.

Hi Paul,

The suspension is firm, but not too daft. I haven't really thrashed my car on the country lanes yet as I am not fully confident regarding the Dunlop tyres....how much grip do they really have in cold, damp conditions? I dunno yet.

On the other hand, my car has so-called Nurburgring suspension, it isn't meant to be too firm. We'll see what it is like when I get it on track.

Cheers.

[johnny senna]

roygarth said:

Hi Johnny I've got the article and, as Paul/Clubsport suggested, the car that stars in it! I persuaded Haymarket 'back issues' to give it to me. As an RS owner it's a nice thing to have. I've also got Classic & Sportscar with my actual car in plus Performance Car and Car, or is it Top Gear, from 1995 when they tested the RS. PC achieved 0-60 in 4.6 and 100 in 11.2! Frankels car did have Manual Sport Seats and rear seats. I've got the correct Reccaro Buckets but left the rear seats for now. Email me your email/post address and I'll either send or scan email the articles to you. Piers

Thank you Piers. I'll e-mail you now.

Cheers,

John.

[Melv]

"....my car has so-called Nurburgring suspension,...."

Just as well -you'll need that at the 'mini-ring' next month!!

Mel

[johnny senna]

Melv said:

"....my car has so-called Nurburgring suspension,...." Just as well -you'll need that at the 'mini-ring' next month!! Mel

Indeed, sir!

[roygarth]

I've just found more recent copy of Autocar where they test 72RS V CS V 993RS V GT3MK2 at the 'Ring....FWIW they cant get away from 993 in the GT3 and rate it tops!

PS this is posted purely in an attempt to maintain value of my car!

[johnny senna]

roygarth said:

I've just found more recent copy of Autocar where they test 72RS V CS V 993RS V GT3MK2 at the 'Ring....FWIW they cant get away from 993 in the GT3 and rate it tops! PS this is posted purely in an attempt to maintain value of my car!

That sounds great!

And there's nothing wrong with talking up the value of one's car.

[aceparts_com]

Question: Why did they ever offer the so called 'sports seats' in an RS? I understand the reasoning in the turbo which is more a tourer.

A chain is only as stong as its weakest link and all.

[clubsport]

aceparts_com said:

Question: Why did they ever offer the so called 'sports seats' in an RS? I understand the reasoning in the turbo which is more a tourer. A chain is only as stong as its weakest link and all.

The 993 RS was a chunk of change when it was new...I always assumed that to afford it, many of the businessmen buyers would be in their 50's +...after a few years of corporate lunches on the bratwerst & schweinaxe not everyone can fit in them. Hence the availability of the sports comfort seats. You could specify your RS with more or less anything from the factory,,airbags, leccy windows & carbon interiors are not that uncommon. Notice that the Gt3 seats are wider than the previuos RS seats, perhaps they never translated the Atkins diet into German

With respect to the Autocar Rs / Gt3 write up above,,the 993 was on cup tyres and I believe Sutcliffe did have the it between his teeth.
No need to talk the values up....I don't drive a Gt3 through choice...although they do come a pretty close second
Notice that the Gt3 seats are wider than the previuos RS seats