Had the good fortune to be able to drive a 2.7 RS yesterday. It was recently subjected to a full restoration, although oddly the (former) owner had had it restored as a mish-mash of half touring and half light-weight spec (it was originally a touring).
The first 911 I ever drove was a 2.7 RS (18 years ago) and unfortunately I wasn't experienced enough with cars or 911s to make the most of it then. Fortunately that is less of a problem today.
What a fabulous car the 2.7RS is to drive. Does it deserve its near-mythical status? And the eye-watering prices being asked for them? I don't know. I do know that the feedback it gives you is wonderful. The unassisted steering is surprisingly light and you can feel the lack of weight: I used to own a 3.2 (one of the 8 911s I've had, if you include the two 993s I still own) and that was nice but in tighter corners it needed a strong arm to get it turned in. Not so with the RS. I was a bit concerned before the drive as I broke my arm only six weeks ago and I was worried I might have difficulty with an unassisted steering, but I didn't have any problems at all.
At low speed the sound of the RS was not really special but under full acceleration with the revs rising the tone changed, got harder and angrier and was simply wonderful to hear.
The RS I drove had a short shift fitted and the gearbox felt very good, although not perfect. Overall I think the car would benefit from a bit of bedding in and tweaking (it had only done 160 km since the restauration).
What surprises me is how quick the RS felt, given that is a 40-year old car and only as 210 bhp (hardly a warm hatch by today's standards). It also had a surprising and very pleasant amount of low down power. I got to drive up a mountain road and it was immensely satisfying to drive hard into the corners, stephard on the brake-pedal, quickly blip the throttle with a roll of the foot whilst slipping it into second, before swinging the RS into the bend and getting on the gas to fire it out the other side. I could have carried on like that all day. Unfortunately the owner (not a good passenger) was not enjoying the experience quite as much!
The top two cars on my want list are the 2.7 RS and the F40. They share some commonalities: both are quite basic with no electronic help and unassisted steering. However from there they diverge significantly. As much as I want an F40 I can't imagine owning one and being able to keep my licence. I also wonder how it would cope with the back roads I prefer to drive on. On the other hand I could easily see myself buzzing around the Swiss countryside in an RS. Problem is that when I think of getting an RS it occurs that I could have an RS tribute car built to my own spec for about a third of the price, or for similar money could buy a perfect 2.7 Carrera ( which probably gives 85% of the RS experience for a fraction of the outlay), or a mildly tweaked 2.4S, which would probably offer much of the enjoyment.
Anyway, outcome of today's drive is that I want to own an early 911! Just need to decide which one and when so have joined this forum to do some research and get some advice.
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Seems to me you are on the right tract with your thoughts as to what car you should pursue. If your budget allows I would encourage you to look for a non-tribute car, instead focusing on a Carrera 2.7 or a 2.4S. Let us know what you find along the way and what you end up with. I certainly envy your driving experience in CH.
