I drove my RS.2 for the last time today…. - Page 2 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

Lovely

Today I took my last drive in my 3.8RS, and parted with it with mixed feelings. Of course, there has always been debate about the various versions of the car. I also have a 7.1 which I am keeping. In my view, the 7.2 was a far better car when pushed hard, especially in the area of high speed stability. Flat out on the autobahn the 7.1 is a bit scary , while the later car is rock solid. There is currently a debate about where prices for the RS will go. I am not really interested in cars as investments, but in cars as experiences. At 65, I could have kept the 7.2 and not gone for the new experience of a 991 RS, but to a degree it would have been repetitive, and although better than the 7.1 is still the same generation of car. It will very adequately give me my manual fix when I want it and is trickier to drive hard, with not stability control. My first 911S was a very well used old thing when I was young, but each car has left something with me...a memory, a feel for it. Even the bad ones have added to the experience. There appears to be an endless discussion as to the merits or lack thereof, of the various RS cars. Those with more talent than I have will doubtless have valid criticisms of the car, so my comments are merely my own experience against the fairly large and varied number of other cars I have owned. Here are the very first, and very last photographs Looking back, it has been an immensely satisfying experience, and my one disappointment was nothing to do with the car. I picked it up at the factory in May of 2010, and the plan was to run it in briefly and do a quick run around the Chech republic,Heidelberg and then to Berlin, a city I love. It is, of course financial madness to buy a new car, but there is something delightful is seeing the mileage on the odometer....3.1km . Two miles. An informal chat with some of the Porsche guys suggested that all that running in was nonsense, so I did nor bother too much with it. Kept under 200Km/h for 1000km and then pretty much let it go. Then it was time for Nurburg. I had timed delivery to coincide with the 24. I had managed to persuade Hans Stuck to drive me round the track in the new car after the 24. He is one of the nicest guy in racing and I had gotten to to know him when he was doing some hosting work for BMW at various F1 races. Arriving in Nurburg, stayed at my usual place, the am Tiergarten.. It was madness with the upcoming 24, but especially interesting as Porsche had entered a standard production 7.2 RS into the race, and it was slated to be driven by a team that included Chris Harris, Horst von Sauma and Walter Rohrl. I had good access due to Hans who was driving for Audi, but my interest was in Porsche of course, especially the RS. Sadly, Walther Rohrl had suffered a back injury and could not drive. Over the course of the race I wandered back and forth in the pits. It is an astonishing race to attend. THe Audis had qualified very well and Hans took the lead. As the race progressed they began to have gearbox trouble and then disaster struck. A spinning VW struck the R8 of Hans and he crashed. He was fine it seemed. but as it turned out he had head injuries and spent a few weeks in hospital. He left immediately. I hope in a future event to realize my dream and have a drive with him. Porsche had a mixed day...the hybrid had been doing brilliantly and retired from the lead with only two hours to go with gearbox trouble, but the standard RS did amazingly well, coming 12th. I asked Porsche to hold it after the race for a few pics with my car. It was amazing just how much damage it had from rubs and scrapes, standard in the 24. I also noticed that after the race it was not transported back to the factory, but driven back on the road. Sabine had also retired with gearbox trouble, but I wanted to do an article on her for Autoweek later in the week. When I arrived at her farm I discovered yet another RS like mine..she had just purchased one. I asked her to drive mine, and she first insisted on a wheel inspection. This was in mid 2010 and she was aware of the centre lock problem. It was very strange how long it took before the official recall. I am always impressed watching a professional driver, how very economical they are with their movements, how rarely they have to make corrections, I am always humbled by this, realizing how modest my own talents are. When the track reopened later in the week, I managed to put in 44 laps. My instructor, Markus Gedlich fit the car with some telemetry and took the car out himself first to set up some reference data, and then it was my turn. I love and fear the place equally. Over the laps I began to put in some respectable BTG times and did nothing overtly stupid apart from missing a downshift which I caught immediately. I have crashed at the Ring before and always use an instructor on the first day. Soon, it was time to return the car to Porsche for shipment to Canada. It joined my existing cars. The M6 and now the RS.2 are now gone, leaving only the RS.1 for now,pending the 991RS. My wife was convinced that the colour scheme was inspired by Bozo the Clown, and called in Bozo the car, but I knew the real story....it was inspired by U-Haul. Since then the car has been rallied, featured in Total 911 and Autoweek, but as it shares time with other cars has not been used extensively. A recent DME report showed how little the engine was stressed. Now nothing is left but the model which joins the other models, ghosts of cars I once owned. Apart from recalls, the only things that went wrong were a small relay that sense when the clutch is depressed in order to allow the car to start, and a loose button on the nav system, both replaced under warranty. I will not begin to enter the argument about whether the 991RS will be better or not. I just do not know. However, staying still and not trying something new is not for me. I recall having the same internal argument when I bought the M6 after a string of superb manual BMWs. Yes, there were issues, but it was special, the only V10 I had ever owned, so I am glad. Equally the 991 will be an adventure,something new. ...will I buy such hard-edged cars indefinitely?..probably not, but I would prefer to let the adrenalin flow in the Porsche than sit on the porch and watch the action. Like many people I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have kept the cars that have entered my life…the old 911S, 3.8 Jag, Lancia Fulvia HF, E39 M5, E63 M6 and all the rest, but they were of their time and that time is gone for me, and others will enjoy those cars that survived. So, goodbye RS.2. It really was fun. Edited by RDMcG on Wednesday 4th June 22:29

Nice write up. I've spent quite a lot of time in the Czech Republic, they've got some great roads, particularly in the north. Where in the Czech did you go, if you don't mind me asking?

Great story. Hope you find the 991rs as rewarding a car as your 7.2 was.

Tripe Bypass said: Nice write up. I've spent quite a lot of time in the Czech Republic, they've got some great roads, particularly in the north. Where in the Czech did you go, if you don't mind me asking? Prague, which is a city I like and then around the country …a very strange and unsettling visit to the old concentration camp at Theresienstadt. It does have nice roads..though most to the time there was before I hit 1000km so I took it easy...

Good words as ever Ronan... I'm sure your 991 RS will be an equally great car for you to enjoy!

wonderful post.

isaldiri said: Great story. Hope you find the 991rs as rewarding a car as your 7.2 was. There are many predictions and I have completely given up trying to separate truth from fiction, so best to just let it happen . Its just a bet on the future, and after all the ink is dry, and all the arguments have been had, and all the journos have done their thing, there will be an actual, real car. I will take it to the Ring and Spa, and may ship it at a later date to Europe to do Monza which is something I have never done. Many here have all sorts of experience like this. I am just a track day driver, have some fun with it, and have no illusions that I am the natural heir to Fangio ...

Cracking write up, really enjoyed reading. Thank you

As always Ronan an enthralling read. Good luck with the RS

Nice write up. Good to read your journey. Good luck with the next one!

Its fantastic to read a great post about real motoring and a GT3 after some of the s te on here recently.

Ronan, I always look forward to reading your posts, and as already been pointed out, it's refreshing to see a well thought out post about the RS's and your experiences. Top bloke.

Thanks for the comments all. I generally do not get into the various X is better than Y arguments because I do not really have much to add, frankly. I know from write-ups that a 996 RS is a different car to a 997RS for instance and of course something like a 2.7 is utterly different , but not having driven them it really does not add to the conversation for me to venture an opinion. I have driven the entire 997 Range except for the GT2RS, and most of the 991s apart from the GT3, so I am on safer ground there. Also,, there are some posters here who are clearly professional drivers like Steve Rance for example , who post very valuable insights into cars driven at 10/10, but again, I am not at that level. In the end, if the car satisfies me personally at the level I can use is within my own competence, then, that's good enough for me. Having driven with some outstanding professional drivers at times, I do know how much more they can wring out of these cars, and have been thrilled to experience that. For those drivers, the way they evaluate a car is very different from the way I do, so I do understand that my conclusions on cars are in no way relevant to everybody. Edited by RDMcG on Thursday 5th June 00:49 Edited by RDMcG on Thursday 5th June 00:58

Super geschrieben. Ich wünsche mir nur, dass mein Deutsch so gut wie Ihr Englisch wäre!!

Thanks for posting, you have some great memories and experiences with the car and that's the way it should be. Enjoy the journey with the new one.

That was a really enjoyable read, thank you

A great post which makes me realise what a load of nonsense 99% of this forum is. I'm off now to mess about with my cars! Thanks R. Joel

Thank you, Sir.

A great read and lovely pictures. Thanks very much for posting.

barchetta_boy said: A great post which makes me realise what a load of nonsense 99% of this forum is. I'm off now to mess about with my cars! Thanks R. Joel I think just about any part of the web has a lot of garbage, but like most people I know there there are a posters that I tend to click on when i see them, and some incredible stories and experiences well beyond anything I would aspire to. When you see something like Lowdrag's E-type restoration for example ( there are many others) you get inside the experience of someone else that you would not otherwise have. Of course, people change, so you can't restrict yourself to the familiar. One of the things I like about PH is that if you post a genuine query there is amazing knowledge and experience here. I have never had a query that was not answered completely. Evidently, I do not post queries as to whether I look good in this shirt, my mid life crisis ( must have been a long time ago,I know) ,are women crazy or the like. They can be fun to read now and then, but I am far too ordinary to participate

thank you for sharing a wonderful story

Fantastic end to a great ownership experience. Thanks for sharing a good luck with the 991 GT3. I drove an old-timer rally in Kitzbuhel with Hans Joachim Stuck just last week. First price was a ride with him around the Ring in his old winning car. He suggested that breakfast is skipped on the day!

hornbaek said: Fantastic end to a great ownership experience. Thanks for sharing a good luck with the 991 GT3. I drove an old-timer rally in Kitzbuhel with Hans Joachim Stuck just last week. First price was a ride with him around the Ring in his old winning car. He suggested that breakfast is skipped on the day! I am green with envy!…tell him the Ronan from Canada sends his regards! He is a wonderful guy.

Thanks for sharing, was a nice story.

That was a thoroughly wonderful post. A lovely and engaging read. Hopefully the new owner has as much fun as you have had.

fioran0 said: That was a thoroughly wonderful post. A lovely and engaging read. Hopefully the new owner has as much fun as you have had. I am very much enjoying your Project Porsche story also!

A very enjoyable read and wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing.

Great write up. I wish more people were as mature and considered.

great post - clearly a worthy custodian of such a great car - thanks for sharing!

Really great great post.. thanks for sharing these incredible experiences !

I'd just like to say what everyone else has. Great thread. Really good pics and write up. You've done everything I'd like to if I bought new, eg factory collection and a bit of a road trip. I really wish more threads were like this and indeed more pistonheaders were like you. I've never seen you get grouchy with anyone or get involved in the crappy side of things. I doff my cap to you and your cars. Enjoy the 991.

A great write up. I rarely read longer posts thoroughly but this was just a joy to keep reading. Thanks, and I hope that at 65 I will have had (and be looking forward to) similar experiences. My future post... A few years after I bought my first 911 (a manual 997.2s) the 918 hybrid came on to the scene with some rave reviews but scepticism amongst The Beards. Little did we know that the trailblazing by Porsche (and McLaren with the P1) would change the world of motoring forever, only to be eclipsed by the impact of Google's self driving car...

Bumble SV;. - agree that the traditional car enthusiasts are on borrowed time. There is still a bit left,though

Fabulous post - raises the bar and then some! Like you I wish I had kept/could keep all my previous cars and just add. we ones along the way. There are very few cars I have ever owned that didn't wheedle their way into my affections and cause me to regret their departure, no matter how great the replacement. I would find it very hard to wave goodbye to my .2 RS, but at least you have the .1 RS and the prospect of the 991 RS is tantalising! Please write about it.... B

Thanks for the write-up and photos, RD. It's such a shame that you didn't get to be driven round the ring by H-JS. If I were to hand over the keys to my brand new RS to anybody, he is one of a small number I would be happy to choose.

RDMcG said: I am very much enjoying your Project Porsche story also! Thank you. I very much wish I had brain dumped in your direction and had you write it up for me. It would have been improved considerably. Words and writing in such a way as your post is an art form and its wonderful when it is encountered.

There is no art to writing, I think. I learned years ago to keep jargon out of it, ( corners like on rails, for example), only write about what I know, and stay away from bunfests. I know my limitations as a driver, so much more likely to seek advice about high speed driving than give it so I don't telegraph my own mistakes to others. After that, keep the words short and clear. The posts I personally enjoy are ones from personal experience, so I love rest posts, good travel posts and so on because they are accounts of someone's experience. Does not have to be fancy to be interesting