Porsche speedboat auctioned
Rare craft goes for £70k
A Porsche Kineo speedboat has been auctioned in the Netherlands. One of only three prototypes built and believed to be the only one in unmodified form left in existence, the 28ft boat has been the subject of a two-year professional restoration to return it to its original condition.
Conceived by Porsche Design in the late ’80s as an ‘exclusive racing boat’, a staggering $4 million was spent on development. It was built by the German industrial group Thyssenkrupp in 1990 to incredibly high standards. Marinised and turbocharged Porsche 928 S4 5-litre V8 engines were intended for the project but after the engines proved unsuitable, twin Mercruiser Magnum 454 7.4-litre petrol engines were installed instead, said to give the boat a top speed of almost 70 knots.
Ultimately the price tag of three quarters of a million Deutschmarks (equivalent to over $1 million today) scuppered the project, with not a single order being taken when the boat was launched at Boot Düsseldorf in 1993. History repeated itself at the auction, as despite an auctioneer’s estimate of £133,650-£175,280, the boat sold for just over £70,000.