The 1973 Porsche Carrera 911 RS 2.7 at The Finish Line

Story and photos by Dennis Power

Santa Barbara Region members cannot complain about not having opportunities to see a varied array of special Porsches, rarities, and top-of-the-list examples of the marque. We’ve visited Singer, the Petersen Automotive Museum, and Bruce Meyer’s collection. We get to meet some great people, too, such as Magnus Walker. This was the case on Sunday, May 7, when Rick Principe held his very popular Cars & Coffee and open house at the Finish Line in Westlake Village. This Sunday it focused on Porsches. And, wow, did the Porsches arrive!

While there were superb examples and a very wide array of years and models brought by attendees, what made this event extra special was Rick’s invitation to owners of the 1973 Carrera 911 RS 2.7. As you can see from the preceding page and short excerpt from the Porsche Newsroom’s 2022 media release calling attention to the 50th anniversary of this special model, this historically significant type is worth adding to your life list.

Four 1973 RS 2.7s were in a special display. Each of the owners was on hand to talk about their cars. Rick pulled out his Jade Green, concours winning 2.7 from his personal garage at the Finish Line. Bruce Meyer brought his “H” car, meaning it was one of the 17 examples Porsche used to have the FIA approve the model for their sanctioned races. Joe Salvo’s immaculate version in yellow came with a thorough history of past ownership: Italy, Japan, France, and the U.S. And, Curt Pindler showed his Grand Prix White “lightweight” that he takes to rallies and often carves the canyons in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The following pages add more about each of the RS 2.7s and the cordial owners on hand who shared their stories. If you missed this event at the Finish Line, keep an eye out for announcements about future gatherings.

Rick Principe’s #280 has a production date of December 1972. Being among the first 500 road versions required for Porsche to enter FIA and SCLA sanctioned events, it is one of the lightweights of the touring models and retains the highest of values today.

The car was originally delivered to a Swiss buyer for $12,500. It was purchased by another Swiss who owned several car dealerships and did a complete restoration in 1998. A U.S. citizen imported the car in a container in 2000 and it was sold to an Orange County resident who did a complete, nut-and-bolt restoration. Over 200 photos were documented with supporting paperwork showing a restoration cost of over $152,000. Rick bought the car in 2018 to add to his collection, which includes several other RSs. He updated the restoration and completed the detailing of the chassis, wheels, and body.

This is a stunning example of the iconic 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 in Jade Green and the popular houndstooth interior. In 2018, this Carrera won the “Best In Class” and the “Best Of Show” at the PCA Concours held at Sherwood Country Club in Ventura County.

Bruce Meyer’s car bears the special identification as a 1973 RSH. The “H” designation means it was a homologation car, one of 17 submitted to FIA to grant approval for racing in that official authority’s sanctioned events. As with Rick’s #280, it is light, but being an “H” is even more rare among the lightweights.

Bruce is no stranger to the RS 2.7 line. Of the 1,500 made, 17 were Homologation cars, 200 were Lightweights, and 1,300 were Touring. He had an RS Touring for 30 years before acquiring the rare RSH last year.

None of these cars came directly to the U.S. from the factory. This one was originally delivered in 1973 to the Porsche distributor in the Netherlands. They then sold it to Vasek Polak in Hermosa Beach. John Paul bought the car for his son John Paul, Jr., to race. After its time on the track and over 30 years ago the car was restored by legendary restorer and expert Nate Cantwell.

Joe Salvo purchased his car in 2020. It is all numbers matching and has the original owner’s manuals and RS supplement in Italian, as well as the complete original tool roll, jack stand, and air compressor for the inflatable spare.

In June 1973, this car was delivered to the first owner in Bari, Italy. Subsequently, it went through the hands of two other Italian owners. In 1979, the car was sold to the first Japanese collector. Around 1987 it went to its second Japanese owner and underwent a restoration while in Japan. In addition, it needed to be brought up to Japanese driving regulations so a passenger side mirror, sport seats with head rests, and retractable seat belts with shoulder harnesses were installed. They also added the correct Becker radio, power antenna, and electric windows so the owner could reach over to pay road tolls.

In 2012, the car went to France to a member of the Porsche Club RS de France and driven to several RS and Porsche events around Europe while there. Sometime in 2016, the car was purchased by the southern California owner who added green side and tail graphics and had the wheels painted in the same green color.

When Joe purchased the car it was solid and ran great. Since then he has converted it back to the way it left the factory, replacing the tail graphics with the proper black and keeping the sides clean with no graphics at all. The wheels were restored to original and wrapped with period correct Pirelli Cinturato CN 36 tires.

Joe and his wife Shella drive the car almost every weekend and thoroughly enjoy the experience. He adds, “What an amazing vehicle and hard to believe it is 50 years young!”

Curt Pindler bought his Lightweight almost 20 years ago. This Carrera 911 RS 2.7 saw time in Switzerland and in Italy as a rally car, competing in events there for about 30 years. Curt has the rally badges to prove it—on the inside of the door panels.

This is not a concours car, he adds. Curt is a selfdescribed enthusiast, more than a collector. He drives his cars, including in rallys such as Ramshorn for air-cooled Porsches, the Copperstate 1000, and the Quail Rally for vintage cars. Living above Malibu, Curt is in a perfect location to frequently carve the canyons in the Santa Monica Mountains, roads familiar to many SBR members.

The RS displayed at the Finish Line is finished in Grand Prix White. Curt is not sure it has ever been significantly restored, but it is kept cosmetically in beautiful condition. It is a numbers matching example as well. As a driver’s car, he keeps it mechanically sound.

In finding and obtaining cars, Curt likes to do deep research, identify something he’d like to own, and then does the search. This has resulted in a what is clearly a significant collection. For example, he owns, among other iconic automobiles, two 300 SLs, a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB4, a 1965 289 Cobra, and a 1989 RUF CTR Yellowbird, and, oh yes, recently acquired a Porsche 918 Spyder. Not bad, for someone who likes to drive his cars.