Portrait of the Month
Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin at the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts with her psychedelic 1964 Porsche 356 C Cabriolet,1968. Photo credit: Jim Marshall / Estate of Jim Marshall.
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.”
This is a telling story…about the Queen of Psychedelic Soul who also owned and loved to drive her 356 Porsche.
This year commemorates the 55th Anniversary of the death of the most iconic and successful rock performers of the late 1960s –Janis Joplin, who tragically passed away on October 4, 1970. Amongst Porsche enthusiasts, she is also known for her beloved 1964 Porsche 356C Cabriolet.
It was September of 1968. Janis Joplin, lead singer of her Big Brother and the Holding Company rock band was in Los Angeles recording their songs. She drove past the Estes-Zipper VW and Porsche dealership on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills and decided to take a test drive in a used 1964 Porsche 356C cabriolet. She fell in love with the Porsche and purchased it on the spot for $3500. It was painted the off-white Dolphin Grey with a black interior and had a black folding cabriolet top.
Janis decided to personalize her Porsche, like James Dean did with his 550 Spyder; subsequntly asking Dave Richards, a close friend and “roadie” with her band, to customize the 356 Cab as a kaleidoscopic mural.
Richards transformed the Porsche into what he called, ‘The History of the Universe,’ a unique mobile work of art. The dramatic graphics depicting butterflies, jellyfish, a caricature of Janis Joplin with her band, along with her Capricorn sign and the ancient third eye symbol. The Porsche immediately became identified with the Psychedelic Queen, wherever she drove in LA or in San Francisco and especially to her performances.
After Janis Joplin’s untimely death in 1970, the Porsche wound up with her former manager, Albert Grossman, who drove it for several years in New York until it became in disrepair. Joplin’s siblings took it back and had it repainted Dolphin Grey. Her brother Michael noted, “Besides Janis’ music and legacy, her Porsche is the most visual and important piece of memorabilia that exists.”
During the 1990s the family decided to have the Porsche repainted again as “The History of the Universe,” and commissioned artists Jana Mitchell and Amber Owen to do the honors. Historic photos were used to recreate the psychedelic livery.
The Porsche was then loaned for a long-term display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.
"It seems like such an extension of her personality-beautiful and colorful and fun,” related a curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “When I look at it, I see Janis in it, with the top down, with her dog, George, in the back seat, driving around the Haight. I really see it as an extension of Janis.”
After two decades…having been viewed by over half-million visitors per year, the family decided to take the Porsche out of the Hall of Fame Museum.
In December 2015, the family consigned the Porsche for a RM Sotheby's auction to be held in New York City. Auction experts estimated the psychedelic Porsche would fetch between $400,000 and $600,000. The iconic ’64 Cabriolet proved them wrong, as the bidding went well beyond those values and was sold to an undisclosed buyer for $1.76 million. It set a new record for the highest price paid for a production 356 Porsche model.
Today, Janis Joplin’s 1964 Porsche Cabriolet, VIN 160371 remains one of the most iconic production 356 Porsches owned by a celebrity…along with James Dean’s 1955 Porsche Super 1500 Speedster, VIN 80126, and Steve McQueen’s 1958 Porsche Super 1600 Speedster, VIN 84855.
*Lee Raskin is an internationally recognized Porsche 356/550 historian and author of acclaimed photographic biographies.
Copyright Lee Raskin 2025
