Russo and Steele Collector Automobiles

During the late 1950s, Porsche began producing prototypes for the Model 356’s successor. The result was a vehicle built on the same sort of unitary structure used for the 356 but with a new front suspension, front disc brakes, and a six-cylinder engine. The new car, known initially as the 901, was introduced to the public in 1963 at the Frankfurt Motor Show; initially, its silhouette body was available only in coupé form. Peugeot owned the rights to a three-digit model designation with a zero in the middle, so Porsche changed the zero to a one, resulting thus in ‘911’. The new car’s 1991cc flat-six engine was air-cooled; a six-cylinder ‘boxer’ engine was chosen over the four to allow more room for growth and improvement in the future. Two 3-choke Solex carburetors made for an output of 130hp and a matching top speed.

Late in 1965, a ‘targa’ variant was introduced for the next production year. This was an open version of the 911 with a removable folding roof panel and soft rear window. Targa, apart from the reference to the Targa Florio, also meant ‘shield’ - in this case, referring to the fixed roll hoop. The following year, a 911 ‘S’ model was introduced as a better equipped and more powerful version of the standard 911. It featured engine modifications that resulted in 30 extra horsepower. The chassis was modified and bigger brakes were installed. An extra 5 pounds of unsprung weight was saved in using Fuchs alloy wheels.

In 1968, the Porsche 911S was no longer being exported to the United States due to new emissions and government standards and regulations. Porsche introduced a 911 L as a replacement which was basically a 911 S without the engine modifications. The 1969 model year would see a revived ‘S’ for the U.S. market. The following year, each cylinder grew by 4mm, increasing the engine capacity to 2165cc. This made the flat-six even more powerful in the 911S, which was now producing 180 horsepower.

Just 1,430 911S coupes were built in 1973, a numberlower than the famed 911 Carrera RS on which much of Porsche's advanced engineering was based. This original California blue-plate 1973 911S was driven to Monterey for this event and has never experienced rust or had any rust repairs and remains in very original condition - never completely restored but simply well maintained. Refinished in 1998 from its original gold metallic to a nicer silver, this job nevertheless was done glass-out with all new rubber seals and weatherstripping, and included taking the engine out to repaint the engine compartment - even under the front hood, the finish was carefully redone. The wheels were also refinished and new Pirellis were fitted to them. Simultaneously, the interior was refreshed with a new headliner and new carpeting and topped off with a set of Recaro sport seats.

In 2008, the original matching-numbers engine was upgraded to the RS 2.7 specification of 210 brake horsepower with European barrels, pistons, an RS-spec camshaft and other upgrades that included modern Carrera hydraulic timing chain tensioners and Turbo valve covers. As a result, the car performs just like an RS. At the same time, the 915 transaxle was also rebuilt with a limited-slip differential. Finally, new Dansk exhaust, motor mounts and insulation were fitted and fewer than 500 miles have gone on since that time.

A marvelous driving car whose heritage requires no explanation, this unusual late 911S is sure to impress anyone lucky enough to sit behind the wheel.