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| One Careful Owner... is what this car would like now. |
Just about keeping it F1-related, this, as the title states, is a 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7, the ancestor to the 911 GT3 and regarded by most Porsche fans as the greatest 911 of all time. It also looks lovely in black. Originally built to homologate Porsche's racing 911s in the 1970s, they met the 500-car minimum requirements and then sold 1090 more of them because they were so lusted after by rich folk. 911s work best when they're as pure as possible, and a stripped out, sports-focused one from the 70s is, for many, as pure and as good as it gets. Modern-day rich folk looking to stand out against the myriad GT3s should turn their attention to this very car, as - and here's the F1 bit - it's now up for sale, and the current owner is some bloke called Jenson Button.
Porsche nerds will remember this car for its stiffer springs, bigger brakes, wider rear tyres and the 2.7-litre H6 engine producing 210bhp, enough to propel the 975kg car from 0-60 in 5.7 seconds and on to 152mph, making it the fastest German car of the time (although this is the more luxurious, 1075kg RS Touring version). Others remember it fondly for its colourful Fuchs wheels with matching side stickers and the iconic "Ducktail" spoiler. While most were sold in white and many were bright orange or a very '70s shade of acid green, this is tastefully finished in black with red details. According to
the advert, it was owned originally by Mario Angiolini, founder of the Italian racing team 'Joli Club', before Jenson Button bought it two years ago, perhaps as a present to himself for winning the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship with Brawn GP (now Mercedes GP). I get the feeling that F1 drivers are generally fans of Porsches. Mark Webber has a 911 Turbo and GT2 RS (also in black), Adrian Sutil has a TechArt GT2 with 620bhp (bought before the official 620bhp GT2 RS existed) and a Cayenne, Nick Heidfeld has a 959 S, and I bet the list doesn't end there. Maybe it's the risk of fiery death mixed with the signature precision handling and pure driver focus.
Anyway, this particular F1 star appears not to have the need for a '73 RS 2.7 any more, which will make at least one person very happy, as this particular RS Touring comes with *breathes*: Limited Slip Differential (LDS), head rests in leather, a sliding sunroof, heated rear window, retractable seat belts, driver's side door mirror (that's an extra?), fog lights, engine light and rubber strips on the front and rear bumpers. Lavishly upholstered indeed, and it has also had around £30k spent on restoring it since 2008. Of course, all '73 RS 2.7s are worth a lot these days, being held in the regard they are and with only 1590 cars ever made, and celebrity attachment can work wonders for a classic 911 - the 911S Steve McQueen owned and used in the opening scene of the Le Mans movie sold for well over $800,000! As such, this matching-numbers car with left-hand-drive and around 25,000 miles on the clock, previously owned by two motorsports personalities (albeit one far better-known than the other), is currently on sale for £209,850. If I had the means, I would be all over this, and frankly you'd have to really hate 911s not to feel the same about the immaculate example of an all-time classic sports car.
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