Stuttgart royalty
KING OF PORSCHES? It’s a bold claim, granted, when you look at the Stuttgart marque’s rich road and (especially) track career, but if you work on the basis that the more replicated a car is the more iconic it is, then this roadster is definitely in the top ten of the lot. Sure, like its 550 Spyder rep sibling, fuelled by legions of James Dean wannabes, this one’s popularity is aided somewhat by how easy those replicas are to build onto a cheap and readily available (21.5 million-odd) platform, but there is a little bit more to it than that.
Think about what else is a shoo-in for the higher reaches of that desirable replica league table – Cobra, GT40, Jaguar C-type (though that is currently getting a bit more tricky, more of which anon, I am quite sure) – and a pretty logical theme emerges. Namely, that the core of the replica world is cars that tore it up on the tracks but also were roadable, having either originated there or, in the case of the GT40, been ‘developed’ (and we use that word extremely loosely!) for it. I guess it makes sense that many other cars are just too hardcore or too soft for the same treatment or to have the same appeal. Yes, you can technically buy a road-legal 917 rep, or you could even buy a roadable original of later sports-racers if Dauer or Schuppan had got to it first, but they would hardly be user-friendly on the Staines bypass.
The 718 RSK, on the other hand, combines all the key ingredients you need for an iconic road-racer: petite, pretty, caricaturish, simple and, possibly most importantly, silver. In driving our wonderfully original cover car, John Simister learns to appreciate all that and more.
IT SEEMS A very long time since we could actually enjoy our classic motoring. Sure, there were gaps between lockdowns, but ones in which our hobby coughed into life only fitfully. Now, it finally feels that we are standing on the threshold of freedom and an actual ‘season’. Whether that means a local club meet, a glamorous concours or a cross-continental rally, we imagine that, like us, most of you are champing at the bit to get out there.
And that is why we felt it was the perfect time to put together our superb, free, 44-page
Great Escapes guide. Packed with a bang-upto-date calendar, some great ideas for motoring holidays and loads more top Octane recommendations, Great Escapes will help you satisfy your appetite for adventure, however voracious it might be. About time, too.