We visited this year's Amelia Island Concours and the Gooding Auction. We came away impressed with the quality of machinery—as did a lot of folks with healthy bank accounts. The auction results were outstanding.
Gooding had fourteen classic Porsche cars cross the block, ranging from relatively affordable short wheelbase 911s to a longtail 907 that was bid to a staggering 3.3 million. The results are indicative of a very strong early Porsche market—no doubt helped by modern Porsche's march into supercar territory
Also in the "North of 3 Million" bracket was this 1959 RSK. Simply lovely.
A 904 on the crowded showfield
Porsche-specific Results with 10 percent "Buyer's Fee" added in:
Lot 10 - 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS Lightweight: $1,402,500
Lot 31 - 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7: $236,500
Lot 36 - 1988 Porsche 959 Sport: $1,100,000
Lot 39 - 1963 Porsche 356 Carrera 2 Coupe: $550,000
Lot 42 - 1958 Porsche 356A Coupe: $159,500
Lot 48 - 1959 Porsche 718 RSK: $3,300,000
Lot 49 - 1964 Porsche 356 SC Coupe: $48,400
Lot 57 - 1967 Porsche 911E Coupe: $137,500
Lot 65 - 1973 Porsche 911S Coupe: $242,000
Lot 66 - 1968 Porsche 907 LangHeck: $3,360,000
Lot 72 - 1968 Porsche 911L: No sale
Lot 77 - 1966 Porsche 911: $112,200
Lot 82 - 1955 Porsche 356 Speedster: $462,000
Lot 86 - 1967 Porsche 911S Soft Window Targa: $195,250
The one that grabbed our attention was Lot 82.
There was quite a bit of buzz about this 1955 Speedster with a pre-auction estimate of $325,000 to $400,000. The car was a stunner, no doubt, but also helped by the provenance of being driven by Pedro Rodriguez in 1958. The final gavel was at $420,000 ($462,000 with buyer's premium) While Rodriguez would go onto fame as a one of the top Formula 1 drivers in the 1960s before his death in 1971, we're not sure the bump from his driving the car in one race is enough to justify the $200,000.
The original owner imported it into Guatamala and raced it in a variety of Central American events. In 1958, he lent it to the 18-year old Rodriguez who wound up finishing fourth overall at the San Salvador road race. Since then, it's had another two ownerss, with the last completing a full restoration a few years ago. Since then, it has won several concours events and presented in strong 1 minus condition.
So, with most early pushrod-powered Speedsters trading for well below this auction's amount, the question becomes how much is this transient provenance worth? While we're shaking our heads a bit, the fact is the the car is worth what the buyers in the room will pay. There you go.
While there's little doubt that early Porsche values are rising rapidly, this was probably a bit of a rogue wave on the top of a storm surge of advancing prices. We're happy to see the results, as the increased values allow owners the peace of mind that their restoration costs are justified in the end if they choose to move the car along.
You can see all of the results from the auction at Gooding's website. The entire Amelia show drew record crowds as organizer Bill Warner has created a world class event that attracts folks from around the globe.
