Auctionata is a relatively new auction house (founded in 2012), but they seem to have jumped in to the right end of the spectrum. One of their most recent events was a Ferrari-only sale, and it was quite successful. Banking on that success, they’re 12th classic car auction with be a Porsche-only sale on the 12th of next month at the Prototyp Museum in Hamburg, Germany. It shows some promise, as there are a few interesting cars for sale there.
One interesting point that I am forced to make is that this auction house seems to list their pre-auction prices as a starting bid price, rather than an expected realized auction price range. I’m not sure how I feel about that, as part of the excitement of an auction is having the auctioneer set the starting price and trying to entice a handful of bidders into the mix. I can just hear RM’s Auctioneer Extraordinaire Max Girardo saying, “what’s another few thousand?” Regardless of how the prices are listed, here’s a preview of what to expect.
Lot 7 – 1993 Porsche 964 RS America (Starting price €60,000)
The 964 RS America has a special place in history, though less for its sporting credentials and more for its collectible credentials. This is a very rare Porsche, as only 701 units were produced and all of them were shipped to the United States. It’s becoming more and more common to see them ending up in collections throughout Europe. As the dollar has been comparatively weak for a handful of years, collectors overseas have been buying them up and shipping them home. Now that the dollar is in a relatively strong position again, and the Euro continues to drop, we may see some of these starting to come back stateside again. This could be your opportunity to own a nice Grand Prix White RSA. If I were to buy one, though, it likely wouldn’t be this one. This particular RSA was ordered with air conditioning, a sunroof, and a radio, adding back in all of the options that were deleted to make the RS America special in the first place. This really is just a Carrera 2 with manual steering and a fixed rear spoiler. On the plus side, it did get a locking differential on the order sheet.
This Porsche was sold to its second owner in 1996, in 2012 it was transferred to its current owner in Germany. The listing says the 911 is in very good original condition and still has its original first finish. To the owner’s knowledge, the vehicle has not had an accident, engine and gearbox are matching numbers. With only 70,000 miles on the odometer, it’s not surprising that this Porsche is in as good of shape as it appears. That said, this seems to be high mileage for a collector car. This one won’t be setting any records, but it should sell on to someone who appreciates it.
Lot 18 – 1988 Porsche 959 Komfort (Starting price €600,000)
959s have been culling excitement at auction houses for years, but in the last 24 months or so, they’ve been really heating up the bidding. This 959 may only start at six-hundred thousand Euros, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see this one head north of a million. This is the lowest distance recorded 959 I’ve ever seen come up for sale with only 8249 km on the clock. Add in that this Porsche was ordered with rare optional Sports Seats, and you’ve got a recipe for a winner. The 959’s first owner drove the car for one year, accruing exactly 8,000 kilometers. From there, the car was kept in the ‘Automuseum Albert Streicher’. It was in 2004 that the 959 was again sold to its current owner with just 5 additional kilometers added in all that time.
The current owner is said to have meticulously kept this 959 in his private collection for the last decade and only driven the car a startlingly low 199 kilometers. The Porsche is being sold as ‘fully documented’ and comes with everything that would have been with the car on delivery. In addition to the original owners manual and service manual, this 959 also comes with a folder of press information and a complete set of tools, including the original compressor.
Lot 19 – 1977 Porsche 911 935 Racing Car with 1968 Magirus Deutz Transporter (Starting price €120,000)
This is my single favorite Porsche auction listing I’ve ever seen, and it may be the single strangest one I’ve ever seen as well. This 935 started life as a 1977 911 Turbo street car that was sold through a dealership expecting to live a normal life as some doctor’s plaything. Instead, the Porsche was stripped down and transformed into one of the wildest racing cars in history. According to the auction listing, the car was built for American racer Norm Goldrich. No information is given as to when it was built, or whether this is a more modern build, or why it was built on a street car chassis. I’ll be honest, this one has me stumped, as I can’t find any record of the car competing anywhere, aside from some light allusions to PCA club races in the mid-1990s.
Regardless of the car’s provenance, this 935-copy looks to be a pretty good one. After moving out of Goldrich’s care, the second owner took the Porsche apart and rebuilt it extensively. A new roll cage and frame connectors were welded in, the engine was enlarged to 3.2 liters and now feature twin-spark cylinder heads, and a larger Garret turbocharger was installed. The engine is said to produce over 600 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque at 1.2 bar of boost pressure. The car only weighs about 2400 pounds, and can reach a gearing limited maximum speed of about 180 miles per hour. Good power, then. The BBS-built center lock wheels are standard 935 fare, and are 11X16 in the front and 14.5X16 in the rear, so the grip levels, when combined with the Porsche’s aggressive aero profile, could be described as ‘prodigious’. This Porsche is currently set up for FIA Group 5 style vintage racing, and has been vintage raced regularly for the past decade. This could be an absolute bargain of a way into racing 935s in vintage arenas. Are you fast enough to beat Bruce Canepa at the Monterey Motorsport Reunion next year? Here’s your chance to find out!
If you were worried about how you would transport your new racing Porsche, worry not, as it comes with this Magirus car transporter. This is not a genuine Porsche racing transporter, but it was modeled after the appearance of the Mercedes-Benz transporter that Porsche used for many years in the ’60s and ’70s for their factory motorsport programs. The Magirus has a hydraulic lift platform on the back capable of raising more than 3000 pounds, meaning it can carry pretty much any Porsche racing car you might care to throw in the back. The vehicle has not seen road use since 2011, but it is said to be in perfect running order. For inexplicable reasons, this transporter has been included in the same lot as the 935. It’s a buy-one-get-one situation.
Lot 21 – Porsche 911 S/T Group 4 Racing Car (Starting price €650,000)
Being a 911 S/T, this car is already a rarity. Above the standard M491 S/T package, this Porsche was equipped with M220 “factor 80 locking differential” and M420 “roll-over bar”. Add in the fact that this 911 was factory prepared for group 4 racing, and it is made rarer still. According to the sellers, only 10 cars were equipped with the “Gruppe IV Special GT” package at Werk 1. The Special GT package adds a 230 horsepower 2.3 liter engine with Weber 46 IDA carburetors, further widened fiberglass fenders front and rear, plexiglass windows all around, a number of swappable gear ratios for the transmission and final drive, a 110 liter fuel tank, and wider 7″ and 9″ wheels.
This Porsche was first registered to Mr. Hans Braun in late April of 1970, and only a week later had the car out for its first race, where it placed 5th in class. In late may, the car and Braun took victories at Wasgau-Bergpruefung and Jura-Bergrennen. In 1971, another victory was secured at Frankenwald-Bergrennen. In April of 1972, on the anniversary of ownership, Braun sold the 911 to Ludwig Hornauer.
Hornauer took the car and further participated in races for another two years. No victories came for Ludwig, but a second place in class at Slalom Giebelstadt and a lot of top-10 finishes don’t look too bad on a CV. From there, Hornauer sold the Porsche to A Manfred Grundmann in 1975. The records get a little fuzzy from there, but ownership is said to have changed “several” times before the car ended up in California in the early 1990s. The American owner of the car participated in a number of vintage racing events all over the country. About 10 years ago, the Porsche was sold back to Germany, where the current owner underwent a full restoration that took about 4 years to complete. The restoration was intended to retain originality where possible. Unfortunately the engine has been lost to time, and the engine currently in the 911 is not its original unit. The worse part is that the decision was made to stamp the new engine with the original engine number, which is a huge no-no, and will likely hurt the value of the car. The gearbox is also non-original.
That being said, the car has FIA papers, all of the required safety equipment, and could be taken to almost any vintage race in the world and be accepted right away. The restoration was comprehensively documented with photos and invoices. A Porsche COA is included, as well as documentation from Jurgen Barth verifying the car’s Group IV conversion, and a large file of other documents from the car’s history.
Other Lots For Sale
Lot 1 – 1979 Porsche 911 SC Coupe (Starting price €24,000.00)
Lot 2 – 1983 Porsche 911 SC Cabriolet (Starting price €24,000.00)
Lot 3 – 1981 Porsche 911 SC Coupe (Starting price €26,000.00)
Lot 4 – 1971 Porsche 911E Coupe (Starting price €50,000)
Lot 5 – 1970 Porsche 911E Targa (Starting price €50,000)
Lot 6 – 1973 Porsche 911T Coupe (Starting price €60,000)
Lot 8 – 1994 Porsche 964 30th Anniversary Edition (Starting price €110,000)
Lot 9 – 1997 Porsche 993 Turbo (Starting price €85,000)
Lot 10 – 1986 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Cabriolet (Starting price €24,000)
Lot 11 – 1988 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Cabriolet (Starting price €26,000)
Lot 12 – 1989 Porsche 911 Speedster (Starting price €140,000)
Lot 13 – 1973 Porsche 911T Coupe (Starting price €60,000)
Lot 14 – 1972 Porsche 911T Coupe (Starting price €60,000)
Lot 15 – 1973 Porsche 911E Sunroof Coupe (Starting price €70,000)
Lot 16 – 1975 Porsche 911 Turbo (Starting price €90,000)
Lot 17 – 1987 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet (Starting price €75,000)
Lot 20 – 1965 Porsche 911 FIA Racing Car (Starting price €160,000)
Lot 22 – 1965 Porsche 911 Coupe (Starting price €140,000)
Lot 23 – 1970 Porsche 911S Targa (Starting price €100,000)
Lot 24 – 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 (Starting price €120,000)
Lot 25 – 1980 Porsche 911 SC Coupe (Starting price €40,000)