Well preserved, unrestored cars are continually gaining traction in the collector market. Concours events and auctions are increasingly catering to preservation-class cars, and the market is pushing the price point of Porsches like this higher and higher. Auctions America pushed survivor 356 prices through the roof this past weekend, with this 1957 356A 1600 Speedster. Pre-sale estimates placed this Porsche in the $200-$250k range, but the ensuing bidding war pushed the car much higher.
Per Donnie Gould, the president of Auctions America, this 356’s auction saw “13 phone bidders battling it out with collectors in the room in a bidding contest that lasted almost seven minutes—certainly one of the most exciting auction moments in recent memory.” The bidding war pushed the final sale price to $665,000, around triple the pre-sale estimate. This 356 wasn’t the only Porsche to fetch a high price at this auction, a 24 mile Carrera GT sold for some $800k.
Speedsters are among the most valuable 356s, particularly if your focus is narrowed to the mass-produced, pushrod powered cars produced from 1959 on. This survivor car fetched a very similar price to this fully restored Speedster which sold at Amelia Island earlier this year, and for more than double what this Speedster sold for two years ago.