Porsche 718 RS 61 Owned by Stirling Moss Heads to Auction

It was 1962 and Moss was driving a Climax-Engined Lotus at Goodwood. Long story short: the Moss man crashed hard, with the accident putting him in a coma for a month. The crash also saw Stirling fight partial paralysis for six months or so, a condition that lead to the legend’s retirement from being a pro racing driver.

Before Stirling put an end to its illustrious career, the lad raced a Porsche 718 RS 61 open-cockpit racer at the 1961 Targa Florio. Moss loved that car so much, he decided to buy one as a 30th wedding anniversary gift for his wife. That’s cheeky, Mr. Moss! The car in the adjacent gallery is it, one-of-14 RS 61 ever made. Yep, they're rarer than the proverbial hen's teeth.

Sir Stirling describes the Porsche RS 61 series as having been “just super cars – beautifully balanced and simply tailor-made for such races as the mighty Targa Florio around 440 miles of Sicilian mountain roads. That was one morning when I woke up and really could say to myself, 'For today's race you have got the ideal car...'". It’s no wonder then why Mr. Motor Racing himself wanted a Porsche RennSport 61 in his garage.

Chassis #070 will be offered at auction on June 26th at Bonhams’ Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale, holding an estimate between £1.7 to £2 million ($2.5 to $3 million). Despite its puny 1.7-liter air-cooled flat-four with 180 HP on top, Moss paid $1.7 million for the Porsche 5 years ago. RM Sotheby’s sold a unit with a lesser racing pedigree for $2.75 million, so go figure what kind of profit Moss will make on his pride & joy.