Really Special? The market will have its eye on how this RS Touring performs at RM’s Villa Erba sale
Chasing Cars Russ Smith’s market headliners
One of the star lots at the RM Sotheby’s Villa Erba sale on May 25 is this 1973 911 2.7RS Touring, restored for the current owner by a selection of UK Porsche specialists. The aim, in the owner’s words, was ‘to create the ultimate RS’. It took around 1500 man hours, but was it a success? We asked Porsche expert Andy Prill for his take on the car, and 2.7RS’s fortunes in the current climate. ‘This Touring was one of the last cars to be completed before 2.7RS production stopped in July 1973. This means that this car will have the benefit of most, if not all of the improvements and developments that were made throughout the production run of 1590 cars. The white/blue colour combination may not be the rarest but it is perhaps the most iconic choice. The car has been restored and that can be a double-edged sword.
‘There’s a big difference between a car restored to sell and a car restored for a discerning owner to keep’
‘However, it has the right names associated with the work and the car’s quality is obvious. This shows in the finishes and the detailing that distinguish a quality restoration from an average or poor job. This factor is important for any buyer because in the recent boom and overheating classic car market too many cars were restored just to sell. There is a big difference between a car restored to sell and a car restored for a discerning owner to keep. When such cars come to market they are obviously the ones to buy and this is clearly a properly restored matching numbers example. ‘When the market was rising 2.7RS values shot up, and in what is now a correcting market they’re among the fastest fallers. That said, a good car will always find a buyer and I don’t see prices falling much more. Whether this car will reach its estimated €475k-€525k (£413k-£456k) remains to be seen. But it certainly deserves to.’
Marque-expert restorers SportWagen and Jaz – and a number of small-component component specialists – combined to make this 911 2.7RS better than new
