Will Paul Walker’s 1973 Porsche 911 RS sale smash records?

Thanks to the blockbuster movie franchise, Fast & The Furious, Paul Walker became something of a household name amongst car enthusiasts the world over. Now, at Monterey Car Week, one of America’s largest attractions for indulging your passion for petrol power and so much more, a 1973 Porsche 911 2.7 RS previously owned by Walker is going under the hammer – and speculation is rife over how much it may sell for.

At the Mecum Auctions sale, and, based on past sales of Walker’s motors, the 911 2.7 RS is likely to fetch a pretty premium. Built in 1973 the yellow, duck-tailed Porsche was bought by Walker online and unseen, as he told Jay Leno on The Tonight Show in 2011. It comes with the Touring package and a refurbished black and white interior by Autobahn Interiors of San Diego, while the registration number is a finishing touch.

The odometer shows 93,774 km (58,231 miles) and the drivetrain and suspension was refreshed by Jerry Wood Enterprises in California. Remember this is one of just 1580 RS models built – and the only one owned by Walker, of course.

The story behind the development of the RS isn’t as straightforward as some may tell it. As Ben Barry recounts, when revisiting the 2.7 RS for its 50th anniversary, it was the package of wings and spoilers that came first to the 911, as Porsche sought to make its sports car more competitive on the race track. Only after these changes proved successful did the company then set about dreaming up a road-going model with the latest developments – the 2.7 RS.

Research by Hagerty UK analysed sales of Walker’s 20 cars, bikes and trucks over the last two years and concluded that on average cars that have has his name attached to them through ownership fetch 331 per cent more than equivalent vehicles without any Walker connection.

The UK Hagerty Price Guide lists the Touring version of the ’73 RS as having a #1 concours condition value of £730,000, and £502,000 for an #2 excellent condition example. In the US, the Hagerty Price puts a #2 Excellent RS at $960,000. Will Walker’s name double or even triple that? Watch this space…

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