Paul Walker’s immaculate 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS poised for auction record

A rare 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS, previously owned by Fast & Furious actor Paul Walker, will go under the hammer in the US next month and is expected to fetch a record price.

Walker, the American actor who passed away in 2013 when the car he was a passenger in crashed into a lamp post and caught fire, was a highly-regarded car enthusiast with a mouth-watering and diverse collection.

Walker's collection included several BMW M3s, a Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R, a 1963 Chevrolet Nova station wagon and a slew of Porsches including a 930 Turbo, Carrera GT and the car featured here, set to go under the hammer at Mecum’s Monterey sale in the US on August 20.

Walker’s immaculate Light Yellow (Porsche paint code 62) has 93,774km on the odometer and is one of just 1580 911 RS’s ever built.

The brainchild of then Porsche boss Ernst Fuhrmann, the 911 RS was created as a homologation special, intended as a base for Porsche to go racing and rallying, and featured several firsts for Porsche, including front and rear spoilers – the latter the famous ‘ducktail’.

With the first run of 500 snapped up almost immediately, Porsche extended production and by July 1973 had tripled that initial number, finally pulling the plug on number 1580.

Walker’s example was built in March 1973 and is one of the 1308 Touring versions, which aimed to offer a more comfortable experience than the more performance-focused Lightweight iteration (option code M471).

Still, despite the slightly softer suspension tune and marginally more comfortable interior, the 911 RS was still a potent force in Touring trim.

With its 2.7-litre flat-six engine fed by Bosch mechanical fuel injection making 154kW and 255Nm, the 911 RS in Touring spec was capable of dispatching the 0-100km/h sprint in 6.3 seconds, with a top speed of 240km/h.

The lightweight Sport version, some 115kg leaner than the Touring, could post a 5.8-second 0-100km/h time with a top speed in excess of 245km/h.

Extensive work has been done to this particular 911 RS – chassis number 9113600901 – with a full drivetrain, brake and suspension rebuild undertaken at Jerry Woods Enterprises in California.

And the immaculate black interior with seats accented by black and white Pepita inserts was the result of an Autobahn Interiors restoration.

Walker’s 911 Carrera RS comes with a Porsche certificate of authenticity (establishing its credentials as a genuine RS) as well as full FIA homologation papers.

Mecum isn’t placing an estimate on the ex-Paul Walker Carrera RS, but with prices for good examples regular hovering around the $US1 million ($AU1.45 million) mark, it’s anticipated the result could be a new record for the Carrera RS breed.

The current record stands at $US1,402,500 ($AU2.02 million) for a white Lightweight example achieved by Gooding & Company in 2014.

Respected British insurer of classic cars, Hagerty, currently values 'concours' (immaculate) examples of Touring variants at around $AU1.26 million.

Mecum’s auction takes place on August 20. You can check out the listing for Paul Walker’s 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS here.

In 2020, a collection of 21 cars from the estate of Walker sold at auction for a total of $AU3.32 million while in 2021, the orange Toyota Supra the actor drove in the 2001 The Fast and the Furious film sold for $US555,000 ($AU801,919), making it the most expensive Supra ever.