Car photography of the 1973 Targa Florio winning Martini Racing Porsche 911 Carrera RSR prototype / chassis 911 360 0588, otherwise known as R6 at the Concours d’Elegance at Hampton Court. By using German automotive engineer Norbert Singer’s race set up sheets, the car was restored to the precise set-up used on R6 in the race, right down to individual gear ratios used, spring rates and even the type of brake pads fitted.
The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island’s capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973. While the first races consisted of a whole tour of the island, the track length was later limited to the 72 km (45 mi) of the Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie, which was lapped 11 times.
The last Targa Florio was in 1973, won by the 911 Carrera RSR, experienced an unusually high number of accidents, two of which were fatal. The Targa’s demise was compounded by widespread concern regarding the organisers’ inability to properly maintain the race on such a massive circuit; not enough marshals, spectators sat too close to the roads, and new mandated safety walls proving financially impractical.
A fine art print of the Porsche 911 Carrera RSR is available here.
