Stirling is well known for racing sports cars for the likes of Mercedes, Maserati, Aston Martin and Ferrari, but not perhaps, Porsche. We focus on the Porsche RS 60 which Stirling raced in the 1961 Targa Florio. In Stirling’s words “with a 2 litre engine that offered enhanced torque, this Porsche was pretty much the perfect car for the Targa Florio”.

The Targa Florio road race wound itself through the Sicilian countryside over 10 laps of a 44.64 mile circuit through tortuous mountain roads and featured one high speed straight. In the 1961 edition, by the fourth lap, Stirling lead the race by a minute and a half from Jo Bonnier in another Porsche before pitting and handing over to Graham Hill.

After Hill had completed two laps, Stirling took over again, this time in second place some 76 seconds down on the leading Ferrari. He managed to overhaul the leading car and went into the last lap 65 seconds ahead, and then as Stirling recalls “just five miles from the finish”, having raced over 440 miles, “the Porsche differential failed and all that effort had been for nothing”. Porsche did win the Targa seven times in the 1960’s to Ferrari’s three times. The RS 60 defeated the Ferrari’s and Maserati’s at both the 1960 Targa Florio and the 12 Hours of Sebring, earning the title of “giant killer” from the motoring press.

Porsche 718 RS 60

In the early 1960’s Porsche created the 718 RS 60 Spyder, an evolution of the successful 550 Spyder and 718 RSK. The FIA regulations of the day dictated frame width and windshield height, so to keep weight down, the RS 60 was space framed, with a mid-engined layout giving a low centre of gravity. The result was a racing car that offered superb braking, fuel efficiency, handling and acceleration, wrapped in a light weight aluminum aerodynamically efficient body.

The RS 60 ran small bore 1500 cc 4 cam engines, which were subsequently enlarged to 1600 cc. It was also fitted with the type 587 2 litre engine used by Stirling in chassis 718.044, which came so close to winning the 1961 Targa Florio.

Next month The Cars, most of which are also covered in Stirling Moss 80/80: Eighty Cars for Eighty Years book, available to buy in the on-line shop, will focus on the Fergusson P99 4-wheel drive Formula 1 racecar, featuring never seen before images.

Available to purchase in the on-line shop: Stirling Moss NHAFA Collection: Spyder Ringer t-shirt