A Look Back at the Porsche 70th Anniversary Takeover at RM Sotheby

Porsche Experience - Atlanta

In 2015, Porsche opened the Experience Center; a first in the United States, with locations in Atlanta and Los Angeles. At each Porsche Experience Center is the purpose-built driver development track. Designed for the enthusiast to witness the power and engineering of a Porsche while developing as a driver. It's fitting then for RM Sotheby's to choose this iconic center as the venue to hold the auction where it sold nearly 90% of the Porsche's offered. Talk about pushing numbers! The net result was $25.8 million dollars in sales of the prolific vehicles! A couple of very specific Porsche models did not sell but that's history now because so many did sell and this article will cover several of those favorites.  

Project Gold

There probably aren't enough words to truly and fully describe this "project". One can say with conviction that it was something so beautiful that was "built from scratch". It started its life as an original Turbo body in a warehouse since 1996. The goal was to build a 993 with the design elements of the 991 Turbo S Exclusive Series. As far as tuning, they wanted to get the best performance from 100% original parts. So no RUF, Weissach, or Techart business here! (Not that those collaborations would have been a bad thing!) Nonetheless, this was a 70th Anniversary collaboration between Porsche’s Classic and Exclusive departments. The car sold for $3,415,000 with most of the funds going to charity. 

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GT2 Club Sport

Enter one of the Holy Grails of Porsche collectors. This GT2 rendition of a 993 is the last air-cooled, turbocharged racing car, that was made to be raced in competition. In 1992, the World Sports Car Championship was canceled. Porsche seized the opportunity to create this GT race car that was also street legal (not in the United States, however). Only 33 were made and it boasted features like larger turbos, a roll cage, and even a fuel cell. The body was lightened significantly. For GT road racing, this car was king. This restoration came down to every nut and bolt and took about 1 year. The car sold at RM Sotheby's for $643,000. 

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Carrera RS 2.7 Prototype

When you think of the word Prototype, you might think of a collaboration of future and classic Porsche design, engineering and manufacturing elements. This example here is the second 911 Carrera RS ever built. A total of 9 were built and kept by the factory for testing. That makes this one that much more rare. This exact car was on the cover of the sales brochure for 1973. This particular car has made travels around the world until it spent time in the US during the 2000s and then back to Austria in 2008. The main difference between the production Carrera RS and this one is the lack of the ducktail. True fans will prefer this subtler look over the ducktail because the wide hips still let the competition know that this old Porsche still means business. This rare example sold for $1,325,000.  

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959 Paris-Dakar

To understand the importance and rarity of this example, one must be familiar with the grueling Paris-Dakar Rally. This event features an off-road endurance race that involves amateur and professional participants that race between Paris and Dakar. Amateurs make up the majority but here and there you'll find professionals making history with iconic Porsche's like the 959 supercar turned into an extreme rally car. Seven developmental examples were created for the rally race. This one is one of those examples. It is a Group B legend, driven at Goodwood Festival of Speed and winner of several other races around the world. It's based on the 911 SC road car and featured a prototype all-wheel-drive system with a heavy-duty suspension. This unit sold for $5,945,000. 

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1958 Porsche 356 A 1600 ‘Super’ Speedster

Talk about a rare blast from the past! This mostly complete car represented a very special Porsche. The 356 Speedster was introduced in late 1954 as a low-cost, lower weight version of the 356 cabriolets. The 1600 represented the “Super” engine, capable of 75 hp once restored. The engine, top frame, and transmission are all said to be original. The original color is still visible in some areas as 608 Silver Metallic, the original interior would have been either red or black leatherette. This one, with its overall patina and matching numbers, is a great project for someone to restore, cherish and own for years of enjoyment. That said, this one sold for $307,500. 

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914-6

This one might take some time to explain. Basically, past owners of the Porsche 914 remember a unique and quirky detail about them. Between 1969-1976, the vehicle was called a VW-Porsche-914 and was a collaboration between Porsche and Volkswagen. Porsche was looking to replace the 912 and Volkswagen were looking to replace the Karmann Ghia coupe. it was available as a Targa-topped two-seat roadster powered by either a flat-4 or flat-6 engine. The 4 cylinder would represent the Volkswagen motor while the 6 cylinder variant would be Porsche specific. The one pictured here is pure Porsche with Volkswagen roots. Only 3,300 were made and this one sold for $95,200. 

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GT3 RS 4.0

But of course, you would find a newer faced Porsche in this lineup! This is one Porsche a true collector would love to own. With a 4.0L 6 cylinder monster that belts out 500hp, this one gives entry-level exotics a run for their money. The very motor that began life in 1996 with the Le Mans Porsche GT1. The body also takes design compliments from it's preceding GT3 RS and GT2 RS brethren. The hood, front fenders and rear wing are all donned in carbon fiber. Supreme handling on and off the track make this a stellar ride whether in the mountains or on the tarmac. This one sold for $566,000.

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Porsche 924

Quite possibly one of the most puzzling purchases of this day. This was an Audi powered, front engine yet rear wheel drive, water-cooled Porsche. Could a combination become any more blasphemous? Yes, it was also the first Porsche to be offered with an Automatic transmission. Yuck! But, that didn't stop the current owner to bid more than $50K on this thing. It sold for $53,760. That's not really a surprise considering the fact that between 1977-1988, 150,000 units were produced and sold. This accounted for great profits for the Porsche during that time. In the end, people want what they want.  

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