[CRIS HUERGAS]

I thought I'd share with you guys bits of info I know about this particular RS. I've kinda kept track of this particular RS through friends who have seen it, heard about it and learned more over the years about the what, why and how. First off, it is a real RS car which unfortunately was transformed into a slant nose turbo look by its prior owner who then raced it in the Macau Gran Prix. No its not the F1 Gran Prix race but a sport car race series in Macau.

My first knowledge of this RS existence was back in the late 80s or maybe even early 90s when I first saw it advertised in Pano. What caught my eye was the fact that it was converted into slant nose turbo look and that it was located here in Alameda (S.F. Bay Area). I found it amusing and thought to myself, well there's another RS that bit the dust. I never really followed up on it nor did I even inquire about it since I wasn't interested in even buying it. I thought to myself though that perhaps someday, I will pull into a local gas station and find it and maybe chalk up a discussion with its owner. Never happened. I lost track of it until a few years ago when I heard about it again from a friend. Apparently, it changed hands from the Alameda owner to its current owner somewhere in the North Bay Area. A couple of friends expressed some interest but it soon went away when the issue of restoration and its cost prohibitiveness was brought up.

Without going too much in detail about why it was done, all I can say is that the owner then had lots of money and wanted a wide body slant nose look. Maybe it never dawned on them to think that the 73 RS would be a highly prized collectible 911 and didn't think anything of keeping it original. Remember many early 911s were converted into various forms of wide body look during those years and they took the form of RSR, 930, 934s, 935s and those slant nose conversion

Nonetheless, the modifications were done and now its an RS with (to use a term from Keith Martin of Sports Car Market) a "story". From what I've learned, the current 930 engine is very potent and a real strong runner. It is from a real 930 car and it cost someone a pretty penny to have it rebuilt. (not sure who did it, and when) I never had any interest in the car, other than my curiosity about its history (the how and why). I think that somewhere out there, an RS buff is waiting in the wings to rescue this car and maybe, they have the motivation (which many of us don't have) and the money to burn (i know I don't have it), in addition to the energy (i'd rather build another R Gruppe liteweight 911) it will take to try and resurrect this car to original. More power to them.

What is it worth right now? hard to say, the auction should give some indication as to what the market will bear. It'll still be cost prohibitive to bring it back to original but its not impossible. Real RS serial numbered engines are rare but not impossible to find. I know of at least two early 911s with real RS serial numbered engine which,though not for sale, can be had for the "right price". The 930 engine and the slant nose body panels could also be sold to subsidize and offset some of the cost of the restoration and the purchase of original early 911 panels. Please don't try and engage me in a discussion about the pros and cons of this as i am not posting this to elicit that kind of a response, i am merely providing my own thoughts and my own views about this RS.

I don't even care to add up what the restoration cost will be for this project unless I was prepared to do it myself. Its a lot of work and takes a lot of patience and lots and lots of $$$$$. But then again, there are some of us who will fit that bill and may find it fun and challenging. What can I say, some of us are just a glutton for punishment. But hey, as long as they know what they're getting into and they're having fun, I say GO FOR IT.

godspeed,

Cris Huergas
R Gruppe