How to Drive a Porsche 911 3.0 RS on the Targa Florio

Ah, the Historic Targa Florio. Why not get the old 911 3.0 RS out and enjoy a brisk jaunt through some pretty Sicilian countryside? Then again, how about you get the old 911 3.0 RS out and absolutely thrash it to within an inch of its life, rarely more than a few feet away from a huge accident at every corner? Can you guess which approach the driver of this car went for? Oh yes …

This clip is of one stage from the 2013 Historic Targa Florio and features a drive by arguably the top boy on these roads: Salvatore ‘Toto’ Riolo. Now Riolo can properly drive, but if it’s tail-out flamboyance you’re after then you’ll need to look elsewhere because this is a lesson in smoothness, pure speed and driving safely within sight of the car’s limits… and it’s utterly superb.

Immediately after the flag drops Roilo makes it clear how the run is going to pan out with an aggressive start before settling down to a super-smooth rhythm. In fact, you could be forgiven for thinking that he’s not really going that fast – such a fine job does he do of smoothly connecting one corner to the next. Add to the mix some late-afternoon Mediterranean sunshine and the heavenly, rapturous cacophony of a Porsche 3.0 flat-six and you have a recipe for what we think could well be the best thing you’ll watch all day.

image: https://cdn.gwsrv.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/CameraCar_Riolo_Marin_Historic_Rally_Targa_Florio_13_Porsche_911_HD.gif

In fact it’s so good that we actually searched online for flights to Sicily next May (they’re surprisingly cheap!), such is our determination to bring you the very best in worldwide historic motorsport, which this most certainly is.

But as ever, we insist that you do not take our word for it and instead set aside three-and-a-half-minutes of your day to take in this piece of grade-A road racing. Oh and by the way, the run itself starts at about 1:00 and ends at 3:30.

Fasten your seatbelts …