You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down

Suddenly confined to a wheelchair, yet again, Sir Stirling Moss was unable to attend this year’s show and auction at Amelia Island where he was to be the guest of honor and help celebrate the event’s 15th Anniversary.

Never one to let an accident stand in his way, Stirling acquired the Porsche RS 61 Spyder (shown above and below), a Porsche he has long sought after. Purchased via proxy for $1.705MM, at the Amelia Island Auction in Florida, run by Gooding & Company, on Friday, March 12th, a delighted Stirling and Susie [his wife] said “this makes a wonderful 30th Wedding Anniversary present” and added “its something to look forward too” when he recovers from his injuries.

Something “to look forward to”? That’s an understatement. Having won close to 50% of all the races he ever entered Sir Stirling Moss is most widely known as one of auto racing’s elite. His storied career includes experiences with dozens and dozens of manufacturers including Porsche. Moss is intimately familiar with the Porsche RS series as he raced them extensively and almost won the 1961 Targo Floria at the wheel of an RS.

Sir Stirling Moss is a Cross Between 007 and Austen Powers

What you may not know about the racing super star is his Bond like appreciation for gadgets, mechanical and otherwise. Take a look at the video below and you’ll understand what we’re talking about.

I wonder if we’ll see an ejector seat get added to the Porsche RS? You can visit Sir Stirling Moss’s web-site for more details on the Porsche itself, including provenance and history.

Related Porsche Posts
Sir Stirling Moss Retires
Porsche Type 64 On Its Way to Atlanta
Video Recap of Porsche’s Participation in Monterey
Porsches at the 2009 Greenwich Concours d’Elegance

[Source: Gooding and Company, Stirling Moss, Jalopnik]
[Photo Credit: Photos by Pawel Litwinski © 2009 Courtesy of Gooding & Company]

These wins by the light, small-displacement Porsche race cars against large-displacement 12-cylinder racers, such as Ferrari, gave them the reputation as “Giant-killers”.

For 1960, Porsche introduced the RS60, a further development of the RSK. Like the RSK, it sported sleek, light-weight aluminum bodywork, a low center of gravity and a mid-engine layout. The 4-cylinder, 4-cam engines used were either 1.5 litres (150bhp) or 1.6 litres (160bhp). With a weight of less than 1,300 lbs, the RS60 was very nimble indeed!

For the 1960 season, the FIA stipulated that sports racing cars match more closely the specifications of production sports cars. The racers had to sport a full-width windshield with a minimum height of 25 cm, a luggage compartment and a streamline fairing behind the driver’s head.

The RS60 was very successful out of the box, winning the 12 Hours of Sebring in the hands of Olivier Gendebien and Hans Hermann, followed by Porsche’s third Targa Florio win in the hands of Jo Bonnier, Hans Hermann and Graham Hill. It also won the European Hill Climb Championship.

These wins helped solidify Porsche’s position in North America, with Porsche going from class winners to overall winners.

In 2007, Porsche introduced the special edition Boxster RS60 in homage to the great racer.

Today’s post was written by Paul Chenard, MGDC. Here’s a little more info on Paul in his own words.

My professional background is that of a graphic designer with more than 25 years experience, but my passion is for the history of racing. I started collecting vintage toy racecars at the end of the 1980’s and this led to picking items, books and reference material on racing history. After a few years of studying all this, I decided to transfer my accumulated knowledge to paper in the form of illustrations and stories. In 2007, I set up a company Automobiliart.com to market my creations. I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia with my wife, our two sons and a cat.

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