Vann’s RS was originally a street car before joining the German Rally Series and undergoing a full RSR conversion. After its race career ended in 1983, the Porsche sat dormant until a 2010 restoration returned it to street trim. (Well, mostly. It still has the 2.8-liter RSR motor.) With each car freshly restored, the creaks and groans of time and mileage won’t pollute the essential experiences delivered by Porsche and GM four decades ago. We’ve got two legendary cars and a racetrack to ourselves. As long as we avoid putting any
fresh paint on Gateway’s walls, this has the makings of a great day. With the RS and LT-1 dormant in the paddock, Vann and Burroughs do a walk-around and discuss their expectations and preconceptions. “I don’t expect the Corvette to be of a piece, the way a Porsche is,” Vann says. “I expect it to understeer.” Burroughs, who’s well acquainted with the iconic status of the 1973 911 RS, replies, “I’m going to be disappointed if it isn’t as good as I think it is.” Once the RS is warmed up, Burroughs straps in and pulls onto the track. Te inherent strangeness of the 911, the idiosyncrasies that Porsche owners eventually take for granted, are manifest everywhere to Burroughs’ fresh set of eyes. “I can’t get used to this clutch pedal,” he says. “Te pedal is 20 degrees off from the longitudinal axis of the car. And the floor-hinged pedals take some getting used to. Te safety belts I don’t care for, either. Te shifter isn’t bad, it’s just in an unfamiliar spot. It’s not a car that I feel immediately at home in.” As Burroughs feels his way around the cockpit and the car’s performance envelope, he begins to brake a little deeper and carry more speed into the corners. “Tis car’s got a nice feel,” he says. “Te steering is better than a Corvette’s, and I like the upright seating position. I fly airplanes, and I like being up close to the windshield and controls. Te brakes are wonderful. But the throttle feels stiff. It’s hard to modulate at low speed.”
As long as we avoid putting any fresh paint on Gateway’s walls, this has the makings of a great day.
Ten there’s the fact that this is a German-market car, thus some of the gauges wear inscru- table German labels. Burroughs peers at a gauge labeled “oil druck” and says, “I have no idea what ‘druck’ means. But I have two and a quarter of oil druck.” Burroughs pulls back into the pits to ponder his Porsche experience, and now it’s Vann’s turn for Corvette wheel time. Vann is a St.
Louis local who knows every line on this track, so from the first lap he’s comfortable ex- ploring the Corvette’s limits. Which, to his surprise, are unexpectedly high. “You have to anticipate turn-in and get it to take a set,” he says, pitching the ’Vette into a long double-apex sweeper. “But the faster you go, the better it feels. You don’t have to be careful of what gear you’re in, because the torque’s right there. I’m used to having to row a lot more.” Vann’s gear-rowing habits surface on the front straight, when his hand reflexively drops to the shifter to find fifth gear. Except, of course, Corvettes only had four gears until the C4. “I’m so used to having fifth gear,” he says. “But this redlines at 6,000 rpm and mine redlines at 7,300 rpm, so you don’t have to shift as much.”
Off the straight and back on the infield road course, Vann notices that the Corvette’s styling serves a functional purpose. “From a racing standpoint, you know where your fend- ers are,” Vann says. However, the LT-1’s combination of unassisted steering and a front- mounted V-8 make for an on-track workout. “It takes a lot more turns than the Porsche, lock to lock,” Vann says as he muscles the ’Vette through a tight corner. “Tere’s some understeer there on that slow corner.”
Carrera RS and Corvette LT-1 face off (opposite top), while the Corvette (opposite bottom) lets it rip. Burroughs (top) examines the Porsche flat six and watches (center) as Vann explores alien territory. Vann and author Dyer (bottom) chat as Burroughs goes “Bloomington Gold” on the Porsche.
Hagerty Magazine | 800-922-4050 21
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