Why An RS60?

The story starts with George coveting that which he cannot have.

Something that is right, looks right

The Porsche 718 series features the complex Fuhrman 1500/1600 flat four air cooled quad cam engine; light weight aluminium bodywork; and streamlined style. Introduced in 1957 it was a mid-engined next generation racer compared to the front-engined heavyweight Ferraris and Jags and a step up from its predecessor, the Porsche 550. Suffice to say that it embarrassed bigger machines on the tracks and roads of Europe and the USA. The 718 went on to spawn the similar but more powerful RS60 and RS61 in 1960 and 1961.

The Ultimate Car Page has a good summary of the 718's history.

But can you build one?

From a replica builder's perspective the RS60 has several standout features:

• If you're going to work on something for years, it had better look good! Just as important, less than 40 were made and each differed from the other - especially around the nose and rear wheel arch area. So it's highly unlikely that a replica will suffer an odious comparison with a real RS60 at the traffic lights.

• The compound curves of the upper body lend themselves to fibreglass construction, while the tub area is almost a simple rectangle in cross section.

• Body structure is simple - it has no roof or windscreen and only vestigial doors.

• The 718 torsion bar/trailing arm front end was shared with the venerable VW Beetle, albeit that Porsche worked to tame its worst habits. Thanks to Mexican taxis and Californian beach buggies, the VW Beetle is cheap and still part of the 21st Century.

• The 718 double wishbone rear end and tubular chassis are known designs.

• Aircooled four cylinder Porsche and VW engines are a cheap approximation of the original Fuhrman engine. However, they are expensive with any sort of horse power. Luckily in-line flat fours are also made by Subaru - did someone mention 220 bhp?

A 3 view blueprint

718 blueprints are scarce. This is as good as it gets.

RS60 model

Models of the RS60 are also scarce - if only James Dean had been driving an RS60.

Mike and Pat Arensdorf of MAModels have a great 1/43 Porsche RSK and RS60 series. Mike Arensdorf has a great eye for proportion and detail. A visit to their website will show well-modelled classics from CanAM, Indy, IMSA and Sports.

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