ME AND MY CAR: JOHN WATSON - Former F1 ace 'Wattie' shows PH his 1973 911 RS

[larwik]

http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=52&i=23513

[fryardds]

Anyone know the VIN of John's RS? So cool to see him as the original owner of this car.

[HughH]

Brian

i don't................but from the fact that it is a black car, a M472, the options and pepita fabric on the sports seats AND it has not been on the market since new I have narrowed it down to probably being either #332 or #970.
there were 9 black English delivered cars.
it is not #333 was sold thru autofarm in the 90's and no pepita
it is not #358 I think we know who that belongs to (hey Nick do you know the number?)
it is not #478 no pepita , otherwise options match
it is not #518 sold by autofarm in the 90's also has driving lights and collision bar (and last seen was white)
it is not #926 no pepita no spoiler amongst other things including that it is in Australia
it is (probably) not #973 it has collision bar but very close including pepita
it is not #990 it has rear wiper, big lights no pepita no spoiler
it is not #1422 no pepita no sunroof
so that leaves

#332 has option 220 (LSD) that is not mentioned and does not have 258 (head restraints) that this car has but they may come with sports seats (409). otherwise it does have pepita, sports seats electric windows and roof and outside mirror

and #970 which also has LSD and does not have 258 and seems a clone of #332 option wise

[fryardds]

You 'da man Hugh.

Good detective work. I was being rather lazy and thought one of the DDK guys might know. He bought it in March '74 so that is no help between the two possibilities.

[nickd]

sorry been in the UK for work / family stuff.

I'm fairly sure John W's RS is the first Black RS registered in the UK - #332 Reg Plate PGF 911L - in the RS book this car has hounds tooth seat material.

BTW I have a signature with Best Wishes from John which my cousin got many years back - she forgot to mention I had a black RS. Derek Bell awarded me the people choice at Watkins Glen at the 2006 Zone 1 Escape - he knew of John's Black RHD RS as they were neighbours - bleeding small world .....

[pgxif]

just came across this article, sitting by the fire one evening ...

Yes: PGF 911L

I like his closing thoughts ...


Classic & Sportscar, October 2003

Elementary for Watson

Former F1 driver John Watson is just one of a select few who keep a 2.7 (UK registration PGF 911L) in their garage: “I had been driving for Hexagon of Highgate, and I was able to buy it from the boss, Paul Michaels in 1974. I traded my Ford Granada, my first car, for it, and the rest was deducted from my salary. For me, being able to acquire a proper Porsche Carrera was fantastic. I’d had a thing for Porsches since I first saw them race at Dundrod. It was ironic that, at the first race, I did with the Gulf-Mirage team at Daytona, all the prototypes failed and it was a customer 911 RSR that won, with Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood – that thing just went round and round and round.
I used it as an everyday car for a year and a half. I remember coming up through Germany when the autobahns were less crowded and being in a line of cars doing 120 mph for mile after mile – impossible to do now. In the last 28 years it’s only done about 20,000 miles, about 3,000 in total.
“It’s just such a good car, so pure. It hasn’t got power steering, hasn’t got power brakes. The mechanical injected engine is so sweet – when it gets to about 4500 it comes to life. From A to B cross country it’s as fast as anything out there and that’s a 30 year old sports car. Something that’s light and nimble is always going to be more fulfilling to drive.
I tend to get it warmed up properly and do a long run. Most recently I took it down to Goodwood for the Festival of Speed - that’s 200 miles there and back and that’s a tankful of fuel. It’s a nice car to own – a supercar that’s practical and reliable.
I ran a Carrera 4 once and the performance was a little better, but the road noise was terrible. Some people consider the 993 RS to be the definitive 911 but I think this car was ahead of its time. The current GT3 weights nearly 400 kg more than this, which is ridiculous.

I’d still like to own an RS lightweight – it’s just that bit more pure.

You can talk about it forever …