Tag: flat 6

Motorsports Monday: 1972 Porsche 911 RSR Tribute

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This past weekend was the Goodwood Festival of Speed; if you missed it once again, or have no idea what I’m talking about but are reading this, it’s something you desperately need to examine in your motoring life. There are historic races held around the world, and there are motoring events held around the world, so one more held on some rich dude’s driveway shouldn’t be a big deal, right? Wrong, it’s perhaps the single most unique and impressive automotive event in the world. The FoS reunites classic race cars often with their original drivers, driven in anger up the 1 mile hill of Lord March’s drive. It’s tougher than it would seem to be, and since it’s inception it’s attracted every major automobile manufacturer and gathered some of the most impressive machines ever made. From the first race cars to modern Formula One racers, the Festival of Speed is a celebration of all things automotive. For example, this past weekend, Mazda was the featured marque – but they also had gathered 7 of the 8 Mercedes-Benz 300SLRs ever built, and had Sir Stirling Moss, Hans Herrmann, Jochen Mass, Sir Jackie Stewart, and many other notable champions driving four of them up the hill. That was one of many priceless convoys parading by motorsports enthusiasts; it’s simply the largest collection of the most significant race cars ever made in the world coupled with the historic champions that drove them. Why talk about this in this tribute listing? Well, look closely at the lower portion of the door, and you’ll see that the builder of this 1972 Porsche 911 – which tribute’s Hurley Haywood’s Brumos-sponsored 1973 Sebring RSR – went so far as to include the Goodwood FoS number sticker from when the car appeared:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1972 Porsche 911 RSR Tribute on eBay

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Motorsports Monday: 1974 Porsche 911S SCCA B Production

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Getting into the world of historic Porsche race cars is fairly easy. All you really need to do is have a seriously large bank account, and virtually any day of the week a historically important factory race car will be for sale somewhere in the world. What that means most recently in the market is that when you’re viewing those great classic 911 silhouettes from Spa and Le Mans to Laguna Seca and Watkins Glen at classic motorsports events is that you’re looking at – at minimum – multi-hundred thousand dollar vehicles with multi-hundred thousand dollar restorations being run on liquified trust funds. The costs of running vintage cars hard are simply staggering. However, there’s a second tier of vehicles that gets you accepted into the lofty Elysium of vintage racers – period cars that were run by privateers. Today’s 911S is one such car; built in period and raced against the full factory efforts, it has some pretty significant names and achievements attached to it:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1974 Porsche 911 SCCA B Production Race Car on eBay

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Motorsports Monday: 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe

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Over the past few decades, the classic car market has been so crazy in some cases that former race cars have been reverted expensively back to street models in order to capitalize on their greater value. Factory race cars obviously retain their appeal – sometimes even if they were never raced – yet cars that were converted by your average enthusiast retain the prospect of a return to their former street-worthy status. One of the most popular cars to convert to track use has traditionally been the Porsche 911, a car that since it’s inception was a gentleman racer in the making. But with values in a shocking climb, will we see these 911s leave their ancestral home at the track and head for climate-controlled garages with heavy specialty insurance premiums?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe on eBay

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Motorsports Monday: 2007 Porsche Cayman

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I really like the concept of the Cayman. Mid-engined, manual gearbox, rear drive and a lighter chassis are a return to the roots of Porsche – the Auto Union Grand Prix cars first designed by Ferdinand Porsche in the 1930s. Dynamically, it’s hard to fault the Cayman, too – on track, they’re simply magnificent, dispatching corners and straightaways with ease, rippling pavement in braking zones. I was lucky enough to spend some time on track in a then-new ’09 fully loaded S; it immediately put you at ease, the capabilities of the chassis left plenty in reserve even when you entered corners at seemingly inappropriate or inadvisable speeds. Fit and finish-wise, they’re a Porsche through and through; beautiful paint, striking wheels, and luxurious interiors. The soundtrack is pretty great, too. One area that I’m not convinced? The looks; some look great, while others look slightly out of proportion to me. One great upgrade that you can do that really makes the Cayman look more purposeful, though, it to equip the front end with big-brother 911 GT3 items. The result is much more aggressive, and paired with some racing graphics, a huge rear spoiler and the right bits inside, you’ve got yourself a budget Cup car:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2007 Porsche Cayman on eBay

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1983 911 SC Targa

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Another day, another crisp SC Targa found down in Florida. This one is a real head turner as it is covered in rather rare Schwarz Metallic paint. The ad says it can appear Slate Grey in certain light, black or even brown at other times. I think I saw  a 911 with this paint a few years back at a meet but didn’t realize it was so special at the time. Also could have been my eyes playing tricks on me, hard tellin no knowin I suppose.

Anyhow, I thought this ’79 Targa deserved some attention as it features not only a unique exterior but a very clean, very pretty Cork interior. This is certainly among my favorite color combinations for a 911, I think it works particularly well on this era. The leather on the dash and on the front seats is new and the Targa top has been reupholstered with OEM material as well. From a visual stand point this vehicle appears to need nothing and the mechanical side of the equation also seems to be balanced. Brand new tie rods and steering rack boots were recently installed, the seller notes that the A/C squeals at bit at start up but from what I’ve read that’s both rather common on these cars. Whether or not it is an easy fix is beyond me but if it was my car, I would keep the A/C off and the top popped to keep cool.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1979 Porsche 911 SC Targa On eBay

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Motorsports Monday RS Style: 1979 and 1987 Porsche 911s

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It goes without saying that the Porsche 911 is one of the most popular modified chassis ever conceived, and a fair amount of those modifications are track-based. The results are sometimes mixed; however, one of the more popular trends which I think is pretty slick is backdating 911s. It’s ironic, since for some time it was more popular to update the looks of many of the older race cars to new 964 or 993 bodies. However, the surge in pricing in the 1960s and 1970s 911 market has resulted in many backdated cars coming to market. Obviously, the advantage is that you get a better driving and more powerful car with more options than original, but it’s got the look of the sought after early models. However, probably the biggest advantage is that of price; with a lower entry cost, prospective buyers aren’t afraid to use the 911 where it is well suited; driving fast on a race track. Today I have two different takes on backdated 911s, both with a nod towards the mega-buck RS model. Which is the one you’d choose?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera on eBay

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Motorsports Monday: 1965 Porsche 911

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For some time, old race cars were near throw-away items. Vintage racing has changed that and given new life to old steeds to the point that some vintage race cars are actually more valuable than their road-worthy counterparts. This is especially true when you’re talking about very rare cars or cars with historic wins – but in some cases, provenance doesn’t matter quite as much when the market is red hot. One red-hot market right now is the early Porsche 911 market with cars tripling in value over the past year and a half. Couple a short wheel base ’65 911 with one of the most historic races linked to the Porsche name – Sebring – and you’ve got one desirable package:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1965 Porsche 911 on eBay

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1976 Porsche 914-6 3.0

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In this morning’s post on the Audi TT’s future collectability potential, I mentioned the Porsche 914. Long considered one of the most unappreciated Porsches, over the past few years the underrated and unloved 914 has quickly risen in its own right to be a collectable item. The most collectable are the original 914-6s, but of course the low cost of ownership for some time meant there are a lot of motor-swapped 914s cruising around. Some are better than others and not all are desirable – I’d take an original and clean 914 over a poorly swapped car. But some really grab attention, as this 3.0 engined car did to me:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1976 Porsche 914-6 on eBay

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Tuner Tuesday: 1979 Porsche 930 Andial/Ruf

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For all of the crazy tuner modified cars of the 1980s, there were very few that came out the other side looking better than what the factory produced. However, I think two tuners consistently managed to outperform what came directly from the manufacturer. Alpina is one; the subtle spoilers, large but somehow fitting stripes and perfect wheels always make those models modified by the exclusive tuner really stand out. The second for me is Ruf; it’s simply amazing what just a set of Ruf Speedline wheels can do. It is literally as if the 930 shape was made specifically to match those wheels – not the other way around. You can add in the other Ruf bits, ducts and pieces and really make a masterpiece; but the wheels almost make the car special all by themselves. Of course, if you happen to have a bunch of other period-awesome modifications from top companies, that doesn’t hurt either:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1979 Porsche 930 Andial/Ruf on eBay

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1977 Porsche 911S Restomod

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The other day, Rob wrote up a 1978 911 SC Restomod which backdated the look to the earlier 911s. It’s a popular trend, not only amongst late 70s and 80s 911s, but even 964s – the basis of choice for cars like the Singer 911. It makes sense; early 911s have gone through the roof and it’s much easier to replicate the look with a later chassis – plus, you get a faster car. Today’s 1977, though, goes a very different route and instead replicated the look of some of the famous 911 RSR race cars. Specifically, this car is made to replicate the early 1970s IROC 911 RSRs – the birth of the “whale tail” legend that continued with racing and street 911s. Looking like a mix of Singer and Rauh Welt Begriff cars, this Olive Green 911S is available on a budget:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1977 Porsche 911S Restomod on eBay

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