Porsche Experience Center Atlanta hosts the Porsche 70th anniversary auction by RM Sotheby’s
2018 is a very special year for Porsche. Celebrating a 70 year anniversary is not an everyday thing. In the USA, the celebrations started with an excellent exhibtion ‘The Porsche effect’ in the Petersen Automotive Museum. Just a few weeks ago, tens of thousands of Porsche fans had their base close to Monterey to be part of the Porsche Rennsport Reunion VI at the Weathertech Laguna Seca Raceway. And to close out an exceptional year of celebrating Porsche’s 70th Anniversary , the Porsche Experience Center Atlanta will host RM Sotheby’s Porsche 70th Anniversary Sale. We’ve had some impressive Porsche sales in the past.
And the auctioning of a part of the Jerry Seinfeld Collection is definitely one of them. However, the RM Sotheby’s Porsche 70th anniversary auction at he Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta promises to be the world’s most impressive Porsche-only auction so far. The auction will include approximately 70 lots of the finest examples of the Porsche marque and memorabilia coinciding with the 70th Anniversary of Porsche. As always we strongly advise to do a PPI before bidding on any car The auction preview is Friday October 26th. Be sure to boo your hotel now. A complete list of all the Porsches auctioned at the Porsche 70th anniversary auction can be found on the 2nd page of this article.
Porsche literature and memorabilia at the Porsche 70th anniversary auction
The auction starts with about 50 lots of Porsche Literature and memorabilia. There are quite some rare pieces among them. How ’bout one of the holy grails for the brochure collectors : the Porsche 356 Gmund brochure that is estimated between $3,000 and $5,000. We are curious what the lot of Porsche 356 literature will sell for. The estimate of $9,000 to $11,000 may seem a bit high in our opinion despite some highly wanted and pretty rare brochures in the lot. Rare gems are the Porsche 718 Spyder RS60 Spyder manul and Porsche 718 RS60 Parts manual, each estimated to fetch approximately $3000.
In case you are looking for some posters to decorate the wall in your garage or library, there are several lots of Porsche factory posters that will be auctioned. My personal favorites among them, are the Porsche racing posters of the 1960’s (estimated $2,500 – $3,500) and the rare set of Porsche Workshop Technical Schematics and Cut-away posters (estimated $3,500 – $5,000).
To see the complete catalogue of collectibles and memorabilia, we advice you to visit the website of RM Sotheby’s.
Children’s Porsches
Are you still looking for a present for Xmas or Santa-Claus for junior ? Then the Porsche 70th anniversary auction in Atlanta might be a good opportunity. 4 Porsche children’s cars are being auctioned and we’re convinced the eyes of your child will start blinking when he sees them. And above it all, who knows this Porsche children’s car might be an entry ticket for the childrens race at the 2020 Le Mans Classic ? Just know that prices are not for the faint-hearted.
| Lot | Description | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| 155 | Porsche 356 Speedster Junior Children’s car | $18,000 – 25,000 (No Reserve) |
| 156 | Porsche 550 Spyder Junior Children’s car | $18,000 – 25,000 (No Reserve) |
| 157 | Porsche 904 Carrera GTS Children’s car | $20,000 – 30,000 (No Reserve) |
| 158 | Porsche 917 Junior Children’s car | $50,000 – 60,000 (No Reserve) |
Highlights of the Porsche 70th anniversary auction
It is very difficult to pick the highlights of the auction out of the list of Porsches that will be in the auction. But the 2018 Porsche 911 Turbo Classic Series is definitely one of them. The air-cooled 2018 Porsche 911 Turbo Classic Series “Project Gold” is a one-off. There’s no public estimation available, but you can be assured there will be quite some bidders ready to dig deep in their wallet to add this car to their collection. Bidding starts at $174,546 and the proceeds will go to the Ferry Porsche Foundation.
Only 50 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera S Club Coupe were built. The cars were exclusively sold to PCA members. The 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera S Club Coupe is the 39th built, and is believed to be the only car sold to Canada. The car has just over 3,090 miles on the counter. We believe the hammer price will be above the lower estimate of $120,000, even though the car is offered without reserve. Limited cars like this do surprise a lot at auctions. And we think it will be in the positive way.
The 1958 Porsche 356 Speedster that is coming on the block is in barn-find condition as the pictures prove. However, the car is told to be mostly complete, including the original tops and bows. Original and unmolested Porsche 356 Speedsters are highly collectible. That’s why we believe the estimated hammer price of $125,000 – $150,000 will be easily fetched.
The 1980 Porsche 935 K4 is fairly unknown to many. The reason is quite simple. Only 2 of the Porsche 935 K4’s, a car derived from the legendary Porsche 935 Moby Dick were built by the Kremer Brothers. Curious to see how collectors will bid on the Porsche 935 K4, and if it ever will return to the race tracks. The estimated price for the car is $850,000 – 1,100,000.
A car with some good race history usually catches some high price. Add rarity to that, and you understand prices will peak. And that’s what we expect for the 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 2.8. Just 55 cars have been built, making it a rare and collectible car. This particular 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 2.8 achieved 4th overall at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1973 and 11th overall and 3rd in class at the 1973 Watkins Glen Six Hours. The car is eligible for races like Le Mans Classic, Tour Auto or the Daytona 24H Classic. We wonder if that will be enough for the future owner to pay the estimated $2,400,000 – 2,800,000 for the car ?
Another Porsche 911 RSR that will come up for auction is the 1975 1975 Porsche911 Carrera RSR 3.0. Only 52 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.0 were ever built, just 10 of them in 1975. This particular car has an extensive European racing history and was winner of the 1975 European GT Championship. It competed in the 1975 and 1976 Le Mans 24H, and was formerly owned by renowned actor and racing driver Paul Newman. Recently the car has been raced in historic races, and was class winner at the Le Mans Classic 2016 and Le Mans Classic 2018.
Early Porsche 356s are highly wanted by Porsche 356 enthusiasts. And that’s definitely the case with open version. The 1951 Porsche 356 1300 ‘Split-Window’ Cabriolet, that comes on the block in the Porsche 70th anniversary auction. The car was delivered new to Argentina where it resided for over 30 years. The car was shipped to the USA, and sold by a German who shipped the car to Germany to have it restored. The restoration completed in 1990 and included a full mechanical overhaul, repaint, and retrimming. The Porshe 356 remained in Germany until 2007 when it was purchased by the current consignor who more recently restored it in its correct and original color combination. Seen the prices both on auctions and on the private market for split-window Porsche’s, the estimated $650,000 – $800,000 doesn’t seem exagerated to us.
The Porsche 959 was the first Porsche super sports car of which only 259 ever left the factory. Just as for every car, prototypes are built. Nothing else with the Porsche 959. However, it is extremely rare for these prototypes to end-up at an auction. Only 12 prototype’s of the Porsche 959 were built, and this particular one is the 7th built. Nowadays ,only 3 or 4 are believed to survive. That makes this car very rare and collectible. In our opinion the Porsche 959 prototype will fetch easily the estimated $1,300,000 – $1,600,000.
Another prototype that will be hammered is the 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS (Lot 205). It is one of only four prototypes, and pictured in early marketing literature for the model. A Porsche fan with knowledge of the 1973 Porsche Carrera RS will immediately notice the most evident dference between this and the production Carrera RS that followed : the lack of the now iconic ‘duck-tail’ rear spoiler. Estimed hammer price for this car is $1,250,000 – $1,500,000
A derivative of the Porsche 959 was the Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar. Only 3 1985 Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar,and this is one of them. It was campaigned in the 1985 Paris-Dakar Rally, and 1 of the 3 works supported factory entries. Later this car was driving the hillclimb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed with legend Jacky Ickx at the wheel. It is a class winner at the at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance and Quail Motorsports Gathering and was invited to the previously mentioned Petersen Automotive Museum’s The Porsche Effect exhibit. Hard to say if the estimated $3,000,000 – $3,400,000 will be reached but we strongly believe it will.
The Porsche with the most important racing history in the Porsche 70th anniversary auction is without any doubt the 1983 Porsche 956. Porsche 956-110 is the overall winner of the 1983 Brands Hatch 1000 KM and the 1983 Can-Am Road America. The car competed twice in the Le Mans 24H, 1983 and 1984 to be exact. Porsche 956-110 was just one of nine privateer Porsche 956’s built by the factory to compete in the 1983 World Endurance Championship season. The car was originally bound for the legendary Fitzpatrick racing team. Porsche 956-110 made a debute as their lead car at the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans with John Fitzpatrick, Dieter Quester, and David Hobbs at the wheel but had to retire due to fuel-pump failure. No wonder the high estimate of $5,250,000 – 6,750,000.
All the Porsches in the RM Sotheby’s Porsche 70th anniversary auction with chassis numbers and estimates on next page
