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I have a 73RS, restored by RUF in Germany in the mid 80's. It's pretty much STILL the perfect PURE sports car. Many are saying now that the 996 GT3 was/is the next RS. I had one of those too. I don't think there will ever be another RS. It was just the perfect car at the perfect time. That said, today I had the 991 GT3 out in the canyons in Malibu and I have to honestly say it's the BEST CAR I'VE EVER DRIVEN.
Wow. Not sure there's a better or more qualified owner's opinion I care to read after that.
I have a 73RS, restored by RUF in Germany in the mid 80's. It's pretty much STILL the perfect PURE sports car. Many are saying now that the 996 GT3 was/is the next RS. I had one of those too. I don't think there will ever be another RS. It was just the perfect car at the perfect time.
That said, today I had the 991 GT3 out in the canyons in Malibu and I have to honestly say it's the BEST CAR I'VE EVER DRIVEN.
In fairness I think what Walter may have been referring to when likening the 991 GT3 to the 1973 RS is this:
The '73RS was more than a sum of its parts. Up until that time the road cars had undergone a slow and gradual increase in power, performance and speed. The 1973 2.7RS on paper did not look like a huge step up in performance over the 2.4S. Sure there was a 10-15% increase in power (over ROW 2.4 variants). It was lighter by some 100+ KG and that was good too. The car suprised everyone as it punched so high above its weight. The marketing department scheduled 500 thinkng it would be a bit slow and ended up selling 1500 after motor noters of the day started proclaiming its handling prowess and some magazines stated 0-100 kmph performance was below 6 seconds which in teh day, for the money and solid engineering was quite an achievement. Infact Porsche did not produce a 911 production road car that would get below 6s again until the Turbos in the early 80s!
I think you need to understand the history of air cooled 911s to appreciate Walters analogy. I think he is saying the 991 GT3 represents a paragdigm shift performance wise over prior and base models. Up till now GT3s have been steps up on previous generations and base models. 991 GT3 introduces a myriad of tech. On paper car looks 30bhp and Zero torque more impressive than X51 3.8S with little weight difference but some drive train improvements - but on the road the cars performance is a big leap....
I have a 73RS, restored by RUF in Germany in the mid 80's. It's pretty much STILL the perfect PURE sports car. Many are saying now that the 996 GT3 was/is the next RS. I had one of those too. I don't think there will ever be another RS. It was just the perfect car at the perfect time.
That said, today I had the 991 GT3 out in the canyons in Malibu and I have to honestly say it's the BEST CAR I'VE EVER DRIVEN.
There is a big difference in what the RS logo stands for today and what it was in the 70s. These cars where only bought by guys that drove the wheels of them, when they broke, u fixed it and went straight back out again! This changed with the 7rs! Lot of cars bubble wrapped and garage queens! Especially the 4.0. To me the closest thing to the 73rs is the 6rs! Obviously the 73rs was made in larger numbers than the 6rs and very few are bubble wrapped! I believe the 6rs will be worth a lot more money than the 7 4.0 in the future?
I have a 73RS, restored by RUF in Germany in the mid 80's. It's pretty much STILL the perfect PURE sports car. Many are saying now that the 996 GT3 was/is the next RS. I had one of those too. I don't think there will ever be another RS. It was just the perfect car at the perfect time.
That said, today I had the 991 GT3 out in the canyons in Malibu and I have to honestly say it's the BEST CAR I'VE EVER DRIVEN.
Thank you for saving a dying thread.
Dan (notes unless you own one, that comparing anything to 73RS is blasphemy )
Anyone looking at '73 RS', but not too keen on paying $800k+.. should look at the '74-76 Carrera MFI ROW.. these are touring versions of '73 RS, but with G-series chassis/bumpers.. same exact motor and drive train, etc. These are around for $300-350k and rising. Here is a photo of mine... it's a '76.. #33 of 113 built that year.
I have a 73RS, restored by RUF in Germany in the mid 80's. It's pretty much STILL the perfect PURE sports car. Many are saying now that the 996 GT3 was/is the next RS. I had one of those too. I don't think there will ever be another RS. It was just the perfect car at the perfect time. That said, today I had the 991 GT3 out in the canyons in Malibu and I have to honestly say it's the BEST CAR I'VE EVER DRIVEN.
There is a big difference in what the RS logo stands for today and what it was in the 70s. These cars where only bought by guys that drove the wheels of them, when they broke, u fixed it and went straight back out again! This changed with the 7rs! Lot of cars bubble wrapped and garage queens! Especially the 4.0. To me the closest thing to the 73rs is the 6rs! Obviously the 73rs was made in larger numbers than the 6rs and very few are bubble wrapped! I believe the 6rs will be worth a lot more money than the 7 4.0 in the future?
I agree with all of what you say here...6rs was a big ***** car to own new. We have four in NZ and three of them have accident damage history from road and track (they were horrible to drive on lumpy B roads near well threw you off the road, very loud and low gearing etc). They were the closest thing to the '73RS IMO (plastic rear screens, stripped interiors, spherical joined suspension etc).
But there the thing. Perhaps we have it upside down. Like Walter says these cars all get closer to the Cup cars of their generation when infact the 1973RS was nothing about that. Infact they were used as the basis of competition themselves not based off a competition variant. They were mostly tourers and even the lightest of them were no where as stripped back as a 996.2 Gt3RS.
Anyone looking at '73 RS', but not too keen on paying $800k+.. should look at the '74-76 Carrera MFI ROW.. these are touring versions of '73 RS, but with G-series chassis/bumpers.. same exact motor and drive train, etc. These are around for $300-350k and rising. Here is a photo of mine... it's a '76.. #33 of 113 built that year.
'76 Carrera 2.7 MFI ROW - #33
You can pick these up for sale (not in pristine condition like yours) for 40K USD in NZ....
You can pick these up for sale (not in pristine condition like yours) for 40K USD in NZ....
Most likely not the same 2.7 MFI from the 73 RS... in USA, you can get US-spec Carrera's 74-76+ for $40k+.. they were known to have a lot of issues and underpowered due to emissions standards. From my understanding, most of these cars stayed in Europe.. mainly UK, Germany, France and Italy.. they only made 1,600 or so total since 74 to 76. Learn more here: http://carreramfi.com/
If you find any in NZ for $40k, please PM the link. Sorry for taking this off-topic.. Thx.
Most likely not the same 2.7 MFI from the 73 RS... in USA, you can get US-spec Carrera's 74-76+ for $40k+.. they were known to have a lot of issues and underpowered due to emissions standards. From my understanding, most of these cars stayed in Europe.. mainly UK, Germany, France and Italy.. they only made 1,600 or so total since 74 to 76. Learn more here: http://carreramfi.com/
If you find any in NZ for $40k, please PM the link. Sorry for taking this off-topic.. Thx.
Yep, PM me too!! NO WAY RoW '76 MFI Carerras are $40k.