A Porsche RS-60, Derek Bell and the Targa Florio

It’s a point of pride at Revs Institute that the automobiles in the Collier Collection aren’t static museum pieces. Anything but. While antiques, classics and race cars, they appear in galleries, at car shows and on racetracks throughout the world.

Here’s an example of that action we’d like to share. Porsche and Petrolicious wanted to video an important event in the automaker’s racing history, that being Sicily’s Targa Florio. The German company has the best racing history in the now-defunct event, winning 11 times with nine 2nd places and twelve 3rd spots. The compact, mid-engine layout of the Porsches seemed a natural for the twisty, rising-and-diving, 44.7-mile Piccolo Circuito delle Madonia.
The Targa in 1960 was a good point of reference for the video. There was a classic confrontation between Porsche and Ferrari. At the finish, both companies had five cars in the top 10. Leading the way was a Porsche RS-60 Spyder, serial number 718-041, now a gem in the Collier Collection. The car’s 1697-cc, air-cooled flat-4 had 170 horsepower at 7800 rpm to move its 1280 pounds.

Porsche and Petrolicious took 718-041 back to Sicily early in 2016 to be driven by the legendary Derek Bell. The Englishman co-drove to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times and the Daytona 24 three times. In Sicily, he donned a classic Herbert Johnson-style corker helmet, open-back leather gloves, and belted into 718-041 to give us an over-the-shoulder ride on the Targa.

Enjoy.