Sir Stirling Moss is quite a character. Did you know that he retired from racing at the respectable age of 81? No, I didn’t make that up; after a gruesome crash in 1962, which left him with a partial paralysis, he retired from professional racing, but he continued to actively attend various motoring events – after his recovery, of course.
In fact, the last competition he entered, right before throwing in the towel, was the qualifying session for the Motor Racing Legends race at Le Mans, in 2011. At that point, he was driving a Porsche RS61 that apparently made him realize he’s not up to the task of driving it fast – not anymore.
The Porsche in question is this sweet grey 718 RS61 – built in 1961 – that he bought in 2010 as a 30th wedding anniversary present. Nice excuse for buying a 1.1 million dollar Porsche, Mr. Moss. We all know it wasn’t for your wife…
In fact, the reason that he bought the car was because he loved the RS60 and RS61 models and just couldn’t resist temptation when this one was offered for sale.
Moss actually raced an RS60 in 1961, at Targa Florio, alongside fellow racing legend Graham Hill. Stirling characterized the car as being “beautifully balanced and simply tailor made for such races as the mighty Targa Florio“. Right he was, since the 1.5-litre 160bhp Porsche outpaced the other cars by a 65-second lead. Too bad the transmission broke and they lost the race.
Anyway, Moss never actually raced his current RS61 in period, but according to a Bonhams spokesman, the 85-year old racing legend campaigned the car in various motoring events, like Le Mans Classic.
The car will be offered up for action at the Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed sale on June 26, and is estimated to bring in £1.7 million to £2 million. That’s at least $2.6 million at the current conversion rate. I’m trying to figure out now if this 160bhp lightweight Porsche really scared Stirling Moss, or the deal is just too good…
Here’s footage of Stirling driving his Porsche at Goodwood.
By Bogdan Zoltan
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