«One of just 17 right-hand drive RS 2.7 Lightweights constructed, chassis 9113600446 was completed at Zuffenhausen in January 1973, duly finished in the archetypal RS colour scheme of Grand Prix White with blue decals and wheel inserts. Additionally specified with the desirable limited-slip differential and heated rear window options, the car had been ordered—via UK Porsche importers AFN Limited—by esteemed London-based gentleman driver and classic car dealer Dan Margulies with competition use in mind.
Although Romanian by birth, Margulies had moved to London in his teens, and had emerged as a consistent and accomplished driver on the burgeoning British Club Racing scene of the early 1950s. Initially competing in a Talbot 105 and a Delahaye 135M, 1954 proved to be Margulies’ breakout season; his purchase of a Lotus VIII—and subsequent employment as an early Team Lotus driver—being followed by his acquisition of a Jaguar C-Type later that year.
For 1955, Margulies and a then little-known Graham Hill planned an ambitious season at the wheel of the C-Type, encompassing the Grands Prix of Agadir, Dakar, Spa, and Bari and the 10 Hours of Messina, in Sicily. A truncated 1956 campaign saw Margulies share the C-Type with fellow “Lotuseer”—and future Ferrari loyalist—David Piper in the Targa Florio; this representing the former’s first of five appearances in the great race.
A preference for long-distance—and, preferably, road course based—competition led to Margulies focussing on events such as the Tour de France, the Circuito del Mugello, and the Targa Florio. In 1964, he shared a Ferrari 250 GTO with Piper on the former, eventually finishing a fine fourth, while in 1967 he finished 11th overall—and second in class—on the Targa Florio, sharing a Porsche 911S with Rob Mackie.
Upon its arrival on British shores in February 1973, “0446” was promptly registered with the UK licence plate PGF 270L. Never one to pass up a challenge, Margulies immediately entered the car in that year’s Targa Florio; the epic near-800-kilometre event being but three months away at this point. Significantly, the campaign was to be underwritten by Canadian industrialist and Corinthian sportsman Chuck Rathgeb, who was slated to share the car with Margulies himself and experienced former BMC factory driver Andrew Hedges.
As patron of the Toronto-based Comstock Racing Team, Rathgeb had previously entered a variety of cars—including an AC Cobra, Shelby GT350, and two Ford GT40s—principally for Canadian drivers Eppie Wietzes and John Cannon, although Jochen Rindt and Innes Ireland had bolstered the team’s GT40 campaign at Le Mans in 1966. As a sometime GT40 driver himself—and sharing a common interest in bobsleighing and offshore powerboat racing with his new Team Patron—it is entirely plausible that it was Hedges who provided the initial introduction between Rathgeb and Margulies.
However, despite the Targa race entry for “0446” being duly completed in the name of Comstock Racing Team, and Rathgeb joining both co-drivers in Sicily for the reconnaissance laps, it was decided before the race that the team’s primary backer lacked the necessary familiarity with the 72-kilometre “Piccolo Madonie” lap to embark upon the race. Consequently, the team would revert to a conventional two-driver lineup; Margulies and Hedges joining a star-studded entry list which included the likes of Ickx/Redman and Merzario/Vaccarella in Scuderia Ferrari-entered Ferrari 312PBs, Stommelen/de Adamich and Regazzoni/Facetti in Autodelta-run Alfa Romeo T33/TT/12s and Müller/van Lennep and Kinnunen/Haldi in factory-entered Porsche 911 Carrera RSRs.
Having qualified a creditable 54th out of 115 cars entered, “0446” and its drivers acquitted themselves admirably in the race by finishing an impressive 18th overall, and fourth in the over 2-litre GT category. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the rigours of the Sicilian roads put paid to the combined Alfa Romeo-Ferrari Prototype challenge, with all four cars retiring before half-distance due to either mechanical failure or accidents. However, the event proved a resounding success for Porsche, with van Lennep and Müller taking overall victory in their Prototype RSR, Kinnunen and Haldi finishing third, and the Scuderia Brescia Corse-entered Production RSR winning the over 2-litre GT class. Significantly, 1973 marked the last of Porsche’s record 11 wins in the event, and the final time that the Targa Florio formed a points-scoring round of the World Sportscar Championship.
Upon its triumphant return from Sicily, Margulies retained “0446” for a short time until its sale—via Porsche dealership Peter Lovett—in early 1975 to Belfast-based Porsche agent Reggie McSpadden. A prominent competitor on the Northern Ireland Rally scene, McSpadden duly prepared the car for the Special Stages, and it is understood that it contested the Circuit of Ireland, Texaco, and Donegal Rallies with it later that year. Regrettably, however, the final results of each event are not known.
In 1976, McSpadden sold “0446” to fellow Ulsterman Esler Crawford; the car being re-registered with the distinctive licence plate KOI 7 at this juncture. Despite competing extensively as a co-driver in the 1960s, Crawford entrusted the car to brothers Derek and Adrian Boyd and their respective co-drivers over the course of the next three seasons, rather than navigating himself. Initially competing under its new ownership with Adrian Boyd at the wheel, “0446” finished a fine fourth overall on the 1976 Ulster International Rally, with Porsche RSR or RS derivatives filling the first five places overall.
From 1977 onwards, driving duties were taken over by Boyd’s younger brother Derek, who would drive “0446” on no fewer than ten occasions. In his hands, it took a superb outright win—against the likes of Rally giants Hannu Mikkola, Pentti Airikkala, and Jimmy McRae—on the 1977 Ulster Rally, with further noteworthy placings of third and fourth being achieved in that year’s Donegal and Manx Rallies respectively. Effectively retired from competitive rallying at the end of 1978, “0446” was entrusted to marque specialist Francis Tuthill for a comprehensive rebuild between 1995 and 1998, with strenuous efforts being made to preserve its enviable originality.
In 2007, after some thirty-one years of continuous ownership, Crawford took the painful decision to part with “0446”; his reluctance to do so eased marginally by the knowledge that it was joining the appropriately discerning UK-based collection of sometime British GT Championship competitor—and longtime ex-Kremer team Carrera RSR 2.8 owner—Mike Burtt. In the latter’s custody the car was used occasionally and sympathetically; only comparatively modest mileage being added to the remarkably low figure of 45,000 which it displayed at the time of his purchase. Acquired by the consigning owner in 2022, “0446” has continued to be used extremely sparingly in recent years; its odometer figure having increased only marginally to just under 52,300 miles at the time of cataloguing.
Resplendent once again in its Comstock livery, and with its original UK registration and Targa Florio start numbers rightfully reinstated, “0446” appears now just as it did on the start line at Cerda more than half a century ago. As if to celebrate its remarkable history—and underline its no less remarkable originality—an Automobile Club Palermo scrutineering sticker dated 13 May 1973 still adorns its driver’s side rear window, while the car’s accompanying history file includes its original AFN purchase invoice, maintenance books, and wallet. Incredibly, the original Targa Florio entry paperwork, race programme, drivers’ and mechanics’ armbands, and even a copy of the Lloyd’s of London Motor Racing Insurance certificate have all also been retained; this a fitting testament to the fastidious preservation and ownership which “0446” has always enjoyed».