MARKET WATCH
Exciting Porsches coming to auction.
From mild to wild, the Porsches being served up by specialist auction houses in the coming weeks are set to excite prospective buyers and curious enthusiasts in equal measure, with former magazine feature cars and special Porsche charity projects taking centre stage...
When scanning classifieds and viewing auction lot lists, it’s always exciting for us to stumble upon a former 911 & Porsche World feature car. With this in mind, you can imagine how thrilled we were to see the slammed, Rothmans-liveried, slant-nosed, first-generation 997 — the cover star of our August 2018 issue — due to go under the hammer at the Historics Auctioneers sale to be held at Ascot Racecourse on April 17th. Created in tribute to the 935 and 962 Rothmans racing machines, the modified Porsche was pieced together by Reflex Auto Design, the company responsible for several award-winning modified sports cars and being involved with the launch of the first Uk-based RAUH-WELT Begriff (RWB) 911.
It’s estimated a build to this standard, including bespoke research and development, would run into six figures. It’s a claim reflected in the estimated top bid, which Historics anticipates as anywhere between £88k and £105k. We eagerly await the outcome of the sale, which sits on the same lot list as the stunning 1995 993 drop-top pictured to the right. Loaded with a manual gearbox and having covered less than 95k miles, this gorgeous Cabriolet is presented in the ever popular Polar Silver Metallic paired with classic grey leather and a blue fabric hood. Lowered suspension, Sport seats and wind deflector were all specified by the original buyer, while the vendor recently treated the car to fresh tyres and a new rear silencer, as well as a comprehensive service at Northway Porsche. The lower estimate is a reasonable £35k.
Any car would have a hard job prying eyes away from the Rothmans 997, but the 2020 Taycan 4S art car being offered by RM Sotheby’s has done exactly that. The story of Porsche’s first all-electric sports car is, of course, only just beginning, but a special collaboration with artist, Richard Phillips, marks a distinctive chapter for the model, kick-starting what’s hoped will become a Taycan art car movement, using Phillips’ 2010 Queen of the Night design (a tribute to Swiss artist, Adolf Dietrich) as the catalyst. Phillips previously collaborated with Porsche on the creation of a 911 RSR art car driven to firstplace in the GTE-AM class of the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The sale of the Taycan carrying his art — applied by SIGNAL Design in the Leuehof pop-up restaurant on Zürich’s famous Bahnhofstrasse — will benefit the Swiss non-profit organization, Suisseculture Sociale, aiding creatives impacted by the
PHILLIPS PREVIOUSLY COLLABORATED WITH PORSCHE ON THE CREATION OF A 911 RSR ART CAR DRIVEN TO FIRST-PLACE IN THE GTE-AM CLASS AT LE MANS
COVID-19 pandemic, a move adding yet another dimension to the already compelling collaborative project. The online auction closes on 13th April.
Other forthcoming lots commanding our attention include the beautiful 1986 928 S2 estimated to fetch between £13k and £17k on The Market’s online auction website, as well as a 2004 996 Carrera 4S due to pass through Anglia Car Auctions at the beginning of May. With a lower estimate of £14k, this might well be our pick of the bunch, representing amazing value for money at a time prices of good examples of the 996-generation 911 are on the up. Back at Historics, those feeling flush can look forward to the chance to bid on a 1969 911 S coupe with just 72k miles to its name (lower estimate of £74k) or the 2005 911 Carrera S due to hit the same auction — with a shade over 12k miles from new, this black beauty is definitely one to watch out for.