If you’re looking for a nice warm place to go toward the end of January to both get warm for a few days and bid on vintage collector automobiles, the best choice is probably Scottsdale, Arizona. Five of the world’s largest automotive auction houses converge on the town for a weekend of big-dollar sales and exciting bidding action. There were quite a few Porsche lots there this year, so lets give you a recap of everything that sold.
Bonhams
Bonhams had a pretty good Porsche showing in Scottsdale this year. One thing they can be particularly proud of is the fact that they sold every Porsche they brought to Arizona. Not one lot went unsold, which is a rarity. That usually means the cars were all in excellent condition, but in this case it could also mean that Bonhams is better than most at getting their sales clients to agree to a realistic reserve price. Either way, 21 Porsche lots crossed the auction block, and 21 Porsches saw the hammer fall with a good price for what you are getting.
- Lot 2 was a complete surprise for me. For as long as I can remember, the mid-year 911s have been absolutely undesirable and completely non-collectible. Nobody really wanted them, even when they were cheap. I definitely didn’t predict these gaining in value so quickly, particularly when a 3.0 SC or a Carrera 3.2 offers a much better driving experience for significantly less than this.
- Lot 22 sold for about half of its pre-auction estimate, but frankly still more than it might have been worth. I’m wholly unconvinced that a 1.7 liter 914 is enough to be considered a ‘valuable’ car these days. Furthermore, I’ve heard from people at the show that the paintwork on this car was several notches below standard. The world isn’t ready for expensive 914-4s yet, most especially at a prestige auction like this one.
- Lot 28 is the star of the show in my less-than-humble opinion. This must be a new record for a 356 coupe. I’ve seen a few open-top cars sell for more, particularly the Carrera Speedsters, but haven’t seen anything near this price for a coupe. It’s a gorgeous Carrera 2, and it is good to see the Fuhrmann 4-cam engine closed-top cars get some love on the main stage.
Total Porsches Sold: 21
Total Porsche Dollar Value: $3,108,700
Lot 2 – 1975 Porsche 911S 2.7 ‘Silver Anniversary’: $70,400
Lot 11 – 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera 3.0L: $170,500
Lot 14 – 1969 Porsche 911S 2.0L Targa: $165,000
Lot 22 – 1970 Porsche 914 1.7L: $16,500
Lot 24 – 1970 Porsche 911T 2.2L Coupe: $111,100
Lot 28 – 1962 Porsche 356 Carrera 2 GS Coupe: $627,000
Lot 30 – 1964 Porsche 356SC Cabriolet: $220,000
Lot 32 – 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Coupe: $57,000
Lot 46 – 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7L: $525,000
Lot 56 – 1969 Porsche 911S 2.0 Coupe: $209,000
Lot 61 – 1964 Porsche 356C Coupe: $51,700
Lot 68 – 1977 Porsche 911S 2.7L Targa: $45,100
Lot 75 – 2010 Porsche Panamera Turbo: $63,800
Lot 83 – 1967 Porsche 911S 2.0L Coupe: $121,000
Lot 85 – 1975 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 Targa: $55,000
Lot 88 – 1978 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3L: $132,000
Lot 91 – 1968 Porsche 911 2.0L Targa: $69,300
Lot 94 – 1993 Porsche 911 Strosek Mega Speedster: $134,200
Lot 106 – 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe: $47,300
Lot 111 – 1975 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7L Coupe: $74,800
Lot 114 – 1955 Porsche 356 Pre-A Continental Coupe: $143,000
Gooding & Co.
Gooding certainly cleaned up in Scottsdale, matching Bonham’s record of selling every Porsche they brought on stage. It was another full docket of nice Porsche listings with right-sized prices.
- Lot 011 saw the sale of a very nice 993 Turbo S. This final price of $484,000 is among the highest 993 prices we’ve ever heard, and certainly the highest price ever fetched in a public sale. So it’s fair to say that 993 Turbo S values still have not reached their zenith, I suppose.
- Lot 035, a gorgeous Ferrari Red Carrera GT was within shouting distance of a million dollars. We’ve seen two or three CGTs sell over the 7 figure mark, but if things keep going as they are, it likely won’t be long before that is the ‘norm’. Keep an eye on this space.
- Lot 146 shows that there are those who highly value the Carrera 3.2 as a classic Porsche worthy of paying a premium for. Before the prices of Porsches started going up, this would have likely been a buyable car at half that price, but since the boom, even the later aircooleds are soaring.
Total Porsches Sold: 19
Total Porsche Dollar Value: $4,491,750
Lot 003 – 1955 Porsche 356 Speedster: $352,000
Lot 011 – 1997 Porsche 911 (993) Turbo S: $484,000
Lot 016 – 1976 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera 3.0L: $198,000
Lot 035 – 2005 Porsche Carrera GT: $980,000
Lot 040 – 1964 Porsche 356 SC Coupe: $96,250
Lot 042 – 1988 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3L Coupe: $137,500
Lot 052 – 1978 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3L: $118,250
Lot 054 – 1960 Porsche 356B Roadster: $178,750
Lot 058 – 1971 Porsche 911S 2.2L Targa: $115,500
Lot 101 – 1973 Porsche 911T 2.4L Coupe: $79,750
Lot 106 – 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 RS 3.8L: $286,000
Lot 108 – 1958 Porsche 356A Speedster: $368,500
Lot 110 – 1965 Porsche 911: $247,500
Lot 117 – 1983 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3L: $165,000
Lot 119 – 1962 Porsche 356B Coupe: $88,000
Lot 136 – 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3L: $118,250
Lot 141 – 1997 Porsche 911 (993) Turbo: $242,000
Lot 146 – 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2L: $77,000
Lot 148 – 1961 Porsche 356B Super Roadster: $159,500
RM Sotheby’s
RM fared much better than I’d earlier predicted they would. One of their three significant Porsche supercars failed to get bid up to where it should have been, and went unsold, but nearly everything else went at a reasonable price. 12 Porsche sales out of 14 offered isn’t a bad sales record, but in comparison to Bonhams and Gooding selling everything they brought, it was slightly disappointing.
- Lot 115’s offered Carrera GT sold for almost 200 grand less than the Carrera GT sold at Gooding’s sale. It’s likely that this is mostly down to the color and mileage. The RM car is the relatively common standard GT Silver Metallic, and the special-order Red Gooding car is truly one-of-one. Likewise, the RM car has about 1200 miles on it, while the Gooding car featured only 450. Either way, both cars are indicative of an upswing in CGT pricing.
- Lot 148’s 918 Spyder is one of the earlier sales models, and a relatively rare non-Weissach package car. It’s a pretty car, with still very few miles on the clock. This car would have sold to its first owner at just over 800,000, and it’s fair to say they made a pretty good profit on holding it for a couple of years and doubling their money. 918 Spyders will soon be over two million at this rate.
- The biggest surprise of the weekend’s sale has to be Lot 213’s no sale status. This is a gorgeous, low mile 959 fitted with special order blue leather interior. The bidding rapidly rose to multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the bids absolutely flatlined at $800,000. Max Girardo did his best, asking several times for any more bids. The ‘all done? all finished?’ right before the gavel bang showed his disappointment.
Total Porsches Sold: 12
Total Porsche Dollar Value: $4,045,500
Lot 104 – 1962 APAL Porsche 1600 GT Coupe: $88,000
Lot 114 – 1976 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera 3.0L: $187,000
Lot 115 – 2005 Porsche Carrera GT: $795,000
Lot 123 – 1967 Porsche 911S Coupe: $225,500
Lot 124 – 1960 Porsche 356B Cabriolet: $167,750
Lot 134 – 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo: $209,000
Lot 143 – 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 K-Jet: $88,000
Lot 148 – 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder: $1,595,000
Lot 172 – 1984 Porsche 911 Turbo “Slant Nose”: $112,750
Lot 213 – 1988 Porsche 959 Komfort: No Sale
Lot 216 – 1968 Porsche 911S Soft Window Targa: $137,500
Lot 233 – 1989 Porsche 911 Speedster: $154,000
Lot 253 – 1958 Porsche 356A Speedster: $295,000
Lot 259 – 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 MFI: No Sale
Russo and Steele
Total Porsches Sold: 18
Total Porsche Dollar Value: $753,500
Lot 5027 – 1991 Porsche 911 (964) Carrera 2 Cabriolet: No Sale
Lot 5050 – 1997 Porsche 911 (993) Carrera 2S: No Sale
Lot 5076 – 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder Replica (1969 Volkswagen): $21,450
Lot 5122 – 1962 Porsche 356B T6 Cabriolet: $105,600
Lot 5162 – 1984 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3L: $85,250
Lot 5178 – 1962 Porsche 356 Super 90 Coupe: No Sale
Lot 5198 – 1957 Porsche 356 Speedster: No Sale
Lot 5216 – 1976 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera 3.0L: No Sale
Lot 5226 – 1970 Porsche 911S Coupe: No Sale
Lot 5230 – 2011 Porsche 911 Speedster: No Sale
Lot 5317 – 2006 Porsche Cayman S Turbocharged: $29,700
Lot 5393 – 1993 Porsche 928 GTS: $29,700
Lot 5409 – 2010 Porsche 911 GT3: $107,250
Lot 5452 – 1999 Porsche Carrera Cabriolet: $20,900
Lot 5454 – 1986 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3L: $77,000
Lot 5463 – 1999 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe: $17,600
Lot 5530 – 1984 Porsche 928S: $7,700
Lot 5554 – 1975 Porsche 911S Targa: $28,600
Lot 5555 – 1975 Porsche 914: $19,800
Lot 5588 – 1959 Porsche 356 Speedster “Vintage Speedsters of California Replica”: $24,200
Lot 5593 – 1987 Porsche 928 S4: $15,950
Lot 5606 – 1978 Porsche 911 SC “Turbo Recreation”: $37,950
Lot 5657 – 2002 Porsche Boxster S: $11,000
Lot 5667 – 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet: $28,050
Lot 5680 – 1993 Porsche 911 Wide Body 30th Anniversary Jubilee Edition: $85,800
Barrett Jackson
It’s been said before that we don’t often think of Barrett Jackson when it comes to Porsche sales, but with their recently impressive additions to not only this sale, but also last year’s Monterey sale, it would appear that they are paying attention to what cars are a good idea to bring.
- Lot 487, the DP-Zimmerman 935 Street Targa is a true embodiment of the 80s, distilled into a single car. It’s ostentatious, it’s over-the-top, it’s stupidly fast, and the top comes off. What’s not to like? For a well-built street-driven race car, the price seems pretty right these days, too.
- The Lot 1392 Spyder is another example of someone making a great amount of profit on their purchase, and another example of the ludicrous inflation that limited edition Porsche models see after the production run ends. Nearly 2 million dollars for a car that was nine-hundred grand 12 months ago seems silly to me. As they say, a fool and his money are soon to part. Then again, good luck finding a 918 Spyder for sale at all.
Total Porsches Sold: 20
Total Porsche Dollar Value: $3,159,370
Lot 31 – 1981 Porsche 928: $5,500
Lot 46 – 1976 Porsche 914: $10,670
Lot 438 – 1975 Porsche 911S “Slantnose Conversion”: $23,650
Lot 455 – 1974 Porsche 914 V8-swap: No Sale
Lot 487 – 1984 Porsche DP-Zimmerman 935 Street Targa: $110,000
Lot 494 – 1974 Porsche 911 “Slantnose Conversion”: $44,000
Lot 636 – 1955 Porsche 356 Speedster Replica: $22,000
Lot 685 – 1985 Porsche 911 Euro Carrera: $36,850
Lot 942 – 1972 Porsche 911 “Slantnose and Cabriolet Conversion”: $31,900
Lot 949.1 – 1976 Porsche 911S “Strosek-look and Cabriolet Conversion”: $33,000
Lot 1084 – 1964 Porsche 356C Coupe: $96,800
Lot 1211 – 1982 Porsche 911 SC: $33,000
Lot 1261 – 1971 Porsche 911E Coupe: $99,000
Lot 1367 – 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera 3.0L: $264,000
Lot 1368 – 1989 Porsche 911 Speedster: $181,500
Lot 1385 – 1965 Porsche 356 SC Cabriolet: $104,500
Lot 1386 – 1962 Porsche 356 Super 90 Cabriolet: $126,500
Lot 1392 – 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach Package: $1,760,000
Lot 1403 – 1983 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3L: $93,500
Lot 1476 – 2012 Porsche Panamera S: $66,000
Lot 1527 – 1997 Porsche Boxster: $17,600
Lot 1588 – 2002 Porsche 911 (996) Turbo: No Sale
