In the early 1960s I was assistant to the sales promotion head of Volkswagen Canada, Dr. Hal Albrecht. It was an exciting time to be involved, for Volkswagen's Canadian operation was also responsible for the sales and distribution of Porsche cars. Some of us who worked for the company were also racers, including Ludwig Heimrath and Horst Kroll, both of whom would become internationally-known. My own exploits were considerably less spectacular, though good enough to win some trophies.
All of us at VW Canada were aware of Porsche's winning ways but nothing was more exciting than the arrival of a Porsche RS60, which Heimrath would race for an eager Toronto sponsor. A second historically important event occurred when Belgium's Olivier Gendebien, F1 driver and LeMans/Sebring winner, was brought to Canada to drive a Porsche RS60. He was the first famous European to race in Canada and I was privileged to escort him to the track and around the city.
The following year was even more exciting as international racing took hold in Canada and another F1 and endurance racer, Jo Bonnier, was hired as VW/Porsche's guest driver. Dr. Albrecht insisted that to increase the public relations value Bonnier's car be kept secret. (A photo in the Toronto Star shows Bonnier and myself peeking under a canvas cover at... a Porsche RS61.) I'm very aware that Porsche raced far more spectacular cars in CanAm and LeMans during the following decades, but to my eyes those RS60 and RS61 cars were the most beautiful Porsche racers ever built. And they were fast and sounded wonderful, especially when heading down the straight at night with lights ablaze.
So now you know why I sat up and took notice when Gooding & Co. announced that one of the stars in their first-ever Amelia Island auction would be a Porsche RS61. The company described it thusly: "One of only 14 ever built, the lightweight, 4-Cam 1961 Porsche RS61 Spyder was the ultimate evolution of the Porsche Spyder project that began with the legendary 550 Spyder. Originally raced by famed Porsche advocate and works driver Bob Holbert, this highly-developed sports racer found early success in major East Coast events. Between 1961-1963, it captured over a dozen victories in the hands of numerous significant racing figures. Since retiring from racing, it has been featured in several distinguished Porsche collections and has been a successful participant in vintage racing and concours." If I could attend the Amelia Island concours and auctions during the weekend of March 12-14 I might be found on bended knee, kissing a fender in homage to the memories it brought.
Well, perhaps not quite that exuberant, but I'd certainly raise a glass to the finest racing Porsche I've ever known.
Comments