Auctions

Reflections on the results of the Porsches auctioned at the Monterey Car Week

1951 Porsche 356 Coupe sold at RM Sotheby's Auction in Monterey

The Le Mans movie Gulf Porsche 917-024

Personally I was somewhat disappointed  about the hammer-price of the ex-Jo Siffert Porsche 917K, that Gooding & Co brought on the block. I was convinced that the car would hit a price north of the highest estimates. However, the bidding stopped right in the middle of the estimation range : $12,800,000 (premiums not included). Don’t understand me wrong, this is a huge price for a car that probably won’t be driven much more, except maybe inevents like the 2018 Rennsport Reunion . But for a car with a history like this, I presumed there would have been someone prepared to dig even deeper in the wallet.

Porsche 917-024 Gooding Auction Monterey Car Week
Porsche 917-024

Porsche 934’s and Porsche 935’s remain unsold

We’ve told you about Mecum that had several Porsche 934 and Porsche 935 coming up for auction. To my great surprise, none of these race Porsches found a new owner. We wonder why ? The Porsches 934 and Porsche 935 are good classic racers after all. The cars would have been a certain entry-ticket to many classic races. Was it the fact that these cars are not the easiest to handle on  the track ? Or maybe the collectors just didn’t show up at the Mecum Auction. Maybe potential buyers didn’t do their homework and didn’t even show up at Mecum Auctions.. The list of unsold cars at the Mecum Auctions was definitely long.

I could have imagined the number of potential buyers was not that large for the Porsche 908/03 that came on the block at RM Sotheby’s. This type of Porsche is specifically developed for curvy races like the Targa Florio or races on the Nürburgring. Despite the provenance of the car, it sold just south of the lower estimated range. But admitted, $3,250,000 is not exactly the amount of money you typically draw out of your wallet to buy a new toy.

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