CROSSING CONTINENTS
A 2000-mile drive from Colorado to California in an RSR…
Itʼs a shame there are so many wonderful classic cars hidden away in collections, almost never seen, and only rarely used. Theyʼre transported from their hermeticallysealed homes in enclosed trailers to be viewed as static displays, gently rubbed with microfibre cloth – but otherwise, donʼt touch! There are some Porsches that are like that, but most are taken out and driven. And to prove the point that they are meant to, and can, be driven, I decided to take a Porsche built by the RSR Project and drive it from Colorado to California, winding up at Rennsport Reunion VI. But letʼs start with some basic facts.
Richard Schickman has been in love with 911s from a very early age. His dream machine was the 1973 Carrera RSR, one of the true icons from Zuffenhausen. They are also unicorns: they just donʼt exist in the wild. They ARE hidden away, and when they move from one custodian to the next, the price is massive.
So, as any right thinking enthusiast would do, Richard set out to build his own. With his attention to detail and the quality of his build, someone else really, really wanted it. And they were willing to back it up with a cheque bearing a number with many zeros. The car got itself a new owner. So Richard started over again and – guess what? – someone else wanted that one, too. This happened multiple times and Richard never did get a car of his own. The only thing left to do was start a business.
Richard sources 1984 to ʼ89 Carreras with no damage and takes them down to bare metal, then puts them on a diet. Gone are the impact bumpers, the steel boot and bonnet (replaced with glassfibre, just like the original). The air-conditioning is removed, along with the electric windows and power seats. The empty shell then has steel flares welded on; finally, the body is ready for paint of the clientʼs choosing.
The revised interior consists of a new headliner, Perlon carpet and lightweight Rs-style seats and door panels.
“HIS DREAM MACHINE WAS THE 1973 CARRERA RSR…”
Even the glovebox door is removed to keep with the original. A Wevo shifter and a very pretty 380mm deep-dish steering wheel complete the ensemble. All glass, gaskets and rubber are replaced as well.
At the same time the engine and transmission are rebuilt and detailed to within an inch of their lives. The suspension is fully rebuilt and given new shocks and bushings. Brakes are also new at all four corners. The finished machine rides on Michelin TB 15 tyres and period Fuchs-style wheels by Braid. So you have all the beauty of the RSR with a bulletproof 3.2-litre motor.
Back to the journey to Rennsport Reunion… It was decided to skip much of the right side of the USA and ship the car directly out to Colorado. We landed in Denver and made a beeline to Autosport Werks in Broomfield, Colorado, who had been keeping an eye on our Light Yellow transport. Next stop was 100 miles south and 14,115 feet up: the summit of Pikes Peak.
Pikes Peak Highway is 19 miles long. The famous race held there begins at mile marker 7 and climbs 12.42 miles to the top. By the time we got there car and passengers were running out of breath (the RSR was not set up for such high altitudes) but it still got us to the top. Competitors, mind you, regularly run with an oxygen supply during the race. We then headed back down to 6000ft – and more horsepower – toured around Manitou Springs, and called it a day.
The following morning sights were set on Moab, Utah; we tried to stay off the major roads as much as possible and had a blast on some spectacularly scenic roads. Itʼs a combination of whatʼs outside your windshield and a completely engaging machine that just melt miles and hours away. 80mph speed limits help as well. Because 80 becomes 90 and that can become ʻHow fast was I going, officer?ʼ Luckily we kept clear of Smokeys…
The high point was Route 128. Itʼs a 42-mile run through some incredible scenery and snakelike roads that put all your driving ability to the test. The biggest challenge is to keep your eyes on the road and not become part of the
scenery… But thatʼs why you drive a Porsche – it was made for roads like this.
An overnight stay in Moab got us ready for our run to Arizona. Once out of town, everything opens up wide. Itʼs big world, small Porsche time. Youʼre travelling through land that you have seen in movies and read about in books. Youʼre in the midst of the Navajo Nation.
The RSR Project machine keeps you in touch with the road and world around you. Itʼs very elemental and analogue. Youʼre not cosseted away in an air-conditioned digital living room; instead, youʼre very much attached to the car and working with it.
It has the lightness and directness of an early 911, but youʼre being motivated by an unstressed 3.2 motor; by taking off the weight, itʼs like adding horsepower. Win-win. Arizona flies by with the sound track of the custom exhaust making us want to turn up the volume.
Heading west on Route 40 on our way to Joshua Tree National Park, we take an exit for Kelbacker road. This one is a bit rough, but you take the good with the bad. Eventually the GPS tells us to make a right onto National Trails Highway, aka Route 66. A few miles up 66, we come to Royʼs Cafe and Motel. It has the look of a postmodern Bagdad Cafe (from the movie of the same name).
No food is served at the café, only pre-packaged pastries of very questionable age, and the motel doesnʼt appear to have had any guests since disco was king. But it did have gas and water. What more could you ask for? Following our trusty GPS, we head off on Amboy road, out into the big empty. This is a place where you drive for miles and miles and the mountains never seem to get any closer. I may be gripping the steering wheel a little tighter as weʼre in the middle of freakinʼ nowhere, but the 3.2 just keeps
“ONCE OUT OF TOWN, EVERYTHING OPENS UP WIDE”
howling along and never misses a beat.
Itʼs a good thing because, where we are, itʼs a long walk in any direction to anything close to civilisation – a good 50 miles of Mad Max territory before there are any more real signs of life. Joshua Tree seems almost crowded in comparison. Next stop LA.
Along the way we pass massive wind farms. We are now only a few hundred feet above sea level so every bit of power has returned and the Porsche is in its element ready for you to take it to the red line! But then thereʼs Los Angeles traffic. If this is the land of sports cars, you could have fooled me. In fact, since the the two 964s we met up with in Colorado also heading for Rennsport, other than a few Cayennes, we have not see one other cool car! Surely that has to change?
We find our way to Bruce Meyer ʼs collection in Beverly Hills. There we get a potent Porsche fix: CTR #001, the first production RUF restored by Alois Ruf, a pretty little 356 outlaw and a freshly-built 911T sleeper with a twin-plug engine. Oh yeah – he also has Ferraris, Bentleys, Bugattis, a few Mercedes, Corvettes (Le Mans-winning Corvettes, that is) and a whole lot more.
We then spend some time carving the canyons on Mulholland Drive and cruising Malibu. Mulholland is a place for street racing and general automotive tom-foolery. Some sections of the road are black from all the rubber that has sacrificed itself in the pursuit of showing off.
Youʼd think the California Highway Patrol would have a satellite office there just to handle tickets. But weʼre told by another 911 driver that if youʼre driving a classic Porsche and are not too obnoxious, they just might give you a pass. Sounds good to me… Itʼs time to add more black coating.
Malibu lets you know that there are all kinds of Porsche owners – and theyʼre all driving late-model black cabriolets.
The Light Yellow RSR is a shining beacon of individuality: everyone on the PCH knows whoʼs truly cool. But a few days in and around LA is enough; itʼs time to head north to Laguna Seca for Rennsport.
A little road rally has been organised by TRE Motorsport. It starts in Santa Clarita with about 100 Porsches of all ages and wildness. We hang out; we look; we get on the road to Buttonwillow Raceway Park where weʼll stop for lunch and have some track time.
Californiaʼs highways want to be like the German Autobahn – even though theyʼre not officially supposed to be, they do a pretty damn good impression. If youʼre not doing triple digits, SUVS and compacts go flying by like youʼre parked. No problem – the little yellow Porsche can hang with the best of them, but when youʼre running out of speedometer, you tend to worry about keeping your licence in your pocket and yourself out of handcuffs. Happy to report there were no meetings with Californiaʼs finest.
Buttonwillow proved a bit of a let-down – we donʼt have the room to really have at it, so after lunch and track itʼs off to Monterey at a slightly more sedate pace. Maybe.
Rennsport started life in 2001 on the east coast at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut. It was such a success it immediately outgrew the track. It moved south to Daytona International Speedway for a few generations then made its way west, and Weathertech Raceway at Laguna Seca has been its natural habitat ever since.
“THE LITTLE YELLOW PORSCHE CAN HANG WITH THE BEST…”
Put yourself in the paddock and itʼs a massive Porsche overdose! But in a good way. Thereʼs everything from the diminutive 356-001 to fire-breathing 962s, and everything in between tearing up the track, along with demonstrations trying to break the lap record runs by the 919. The crowd also gets a look at Porscheʼs new take on the 935, a trackonly supercar.
The cars were doing what they were meant to do. Run hard! You got the sight, the sound, the smell. It was total immersion. If you werenʼt a Porsche enthusiast you were in the wrong place.
And when the exhaust notes go quiet for the day, musical notes pick up with the likes of Bob Weir, Dhani Harrison, Perry Farrell and Seal giving the crowd more beautiful sounds. Porsche has created a phenomenon, a gathering of so many special machines and the people that put them in the history books. Itʼs an event you could see from space.
But for me the highlight has been putting over 2000 miles on the RSR Project Porsche. I wouldnʼt have wanted to make the drive in a lesser car, and at the same time I wouldnʼt have wanted to do it in a modern car. This Light Yellow machine is the perfect balance. It has everything a real driver could want. It has power, a wonderful howl that never gets boring, a driving environment with perfect seats and wheel to hold onto. Every mile is a joy. Other than one puncture, the Porsche covered the earth like a fastmoving freight train.
To quote Ferris Bueller, who was commenting about another marque, ʻI love driving it. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.ʼ CP