Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 greatest ever driver’s car
The £300,000 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 has been crowned the greatest ever driver’s car by Classic & Sports Car magazine after a thrilling finale in which a pair of British built ten-grand tiddlers came within a whisker of snatching the title.
The world’s best-selling classic car magazine asked more than 100 leading lights in the classic car world, from Sir Stirling Moss to Lord March, to list the three cars they had driven that had given them the biggest thrills and the most special memories.
Classic & Sports Car columnist, Le Mans ace and TV presenter Alain de Cadenet then assessed the five most popular choices at the famous Millbrook Proving Ground to make a final judgement of the most rewarding road car ever.
Though the Porsche took the title just ahead of the £2million, 238mph, 627bhp McLaren F1 and the £5million-plus pre-war Alfa Romeo 8C-2300, the affordable Lotus Elan Sprint and the original Mini Cooper ‘S’ – with all of 76bhp and a sub-100mph top speed – were only fractionally behind in the final showdown.
Classic & Sports Car Editor Alastair Clements said: “For me the most exciting thing about our Top 5 was not the presence of some of the most exclusive and expensive cars ever made, but the inclusion of two that just about any enthusiast can go out and buy today.”
James Elliott, Group Editor of Classic & Sports Car, added: “It’s another great result for the Mini. This epitome of the Swinging ’60s may not have won outright this time around, but owners and fans can still be very proud of the sort of company it keeps. With three out of the Top 5 to its name and five out of the Top 10, Britain can rightly revel in its glorious motoring past.”
The Top 25
1 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7
2 McLaren F1
3 Alfa Romeo 8C-2300
4 Lotus Elan Sprint
5 Mini Cooper ‘S’
6 Jaguar E-type S1
7 Ferrari 250GT SWB
8 Caterham Seven
9 Ferrari F40
10 Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica
11 Austin-Healey 100/3000
12 Ferrari Dino
13 Lancia Aurelia
14 Lotus Elise/Exige
15 Ford GT40
16 Audi quattro
17 Jaguar D-type/XKSS
18 Bentley Speed Six
19 Ferrari 250 GTO
20 Porsche 993 Carrera
21 Triumph TR2/3/3A
22 Peugeot 205 GTI
23 Volkswagen Golf GTI
24 AC Cobra 289
25 Lancia Stratos
