Thursday 5th March 2015

Under the hammer: Porsches rarities

What next for classic Porsche values? Chris ponders the prospects for some rare Stuttgart delicacies

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Anyone following prices of classic Porsches recently will know the feeling: dizziness. It's pretty haywire out there at the moment, with firework price movements for early 911s and anything with 'Lightweight' or 'Speedster' in the title.

Figuring out what's 'next best' in the Porsche market is a fascinating pastime, one I've been rekindling after looking through the Coys Spring Classics auction at the Royal Horticultural Society in London (March 10). There's a generous smattering of very interesting metal from Stuttgart, and I've picked out some rare Porsches that are not quite in the top stratum but still highly desirable.

You want provenance? Look no further!

The one that really catches my eye is a 1992 964 Carrera 2 RS Lightweight. If you can't afford an early 70s Carrera RS (and with one 2.7 Lightweight recently selling for almost £1m, that's pretty much everyone), the 1992 964 Carrera RS is a brilliant next best. With 260hp, lightweight flywheel, close-ratio steel-synchro 'box, track-oriented suspension and no power steering, it's a driver's car through and through. This Maritime Blue LHD specimen looks super-original (apart from a bolt-in half roll cage), and the auctioneers reckon it's worth £138,000 - £150,000.

With a very similar estimate of £140,000 - £155,000 is a 1989 911 Turbo Cabriolet with 45K miles on the clock. Despite appearances, this isn't one of the 50 limited-edition Turbo LEs built, but a conversion to LE spec (done by Porsche GB so it's got good provenance). LE goodies include rear wheel air intakes, side skirts, front spoiler, limited-slip diff and an extra 30hp (to 330hp).

Perhaps not that rare but still quite nice

Another Porsche that's already headed way north is the 356 Speedster. I saw an unrestored 356A at Essen last year with a scarcely believable price tag of 840,000 euros. It wasn't worth that (maybe half that at best), but it shows which way these have been going. A decent second-best to the Speedster is the Roadster, and a 1960 Super 90 is up at Coys. Only 205 of these were ever produced, and although they're not uber-desirable by Porsche standards, the estimate of £130,000 - £160,000 is still strong.

But not as strong as this drool-worthy 1977 911 Carrera prepared by Porsche's competition department. Back in the day, this car did the 20,000-mile 1977 London to Sydney Marathon, then the 1979 Repco rally, the Australian Rally Championship and even served as a test car for Porsche's Paris-Dakar powertrain. Since then it's completed the 2004 London-Sydney marathon, the 2005 East African Safari Rally (piloted by Bjorn Waldegard, no less) and has been a regular at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Looking pukka in its Martini livery, it's a historic racer of the highest pedigree - as its estimate of £350,000-£400,000 attests.

And also going to auction...

If there is a bargain in this auction, it could be this 1982 911 SC Targa. The auctioneer's description of it as "one of the rarest 911s on the market today" is a bit hard to swallow, though: turns out it just has the rare rear spoiler option. The Targa is one of the less desirable 930s, but this one is in great condition and has just 37,000 miles from new, probably justifying its estimate of up to £32,000.

I must just shoehorn in one final lot from the Coys sale - not a Porsche, but a Ferrari. This is definitely one to watch: the Pininfarina-designed 365 GT4, unloved for so long, is about to follow other Ferrari and appreciate rapidly. A nice 365 GT4 sold last autumn for £67,500, so the prospect of this 1975 365 GT4 2+2 with no reserve looks enticing.

 

[jackpe]

That 964 RS is going to make way more.. desirable colour and negligeable mileage. Basically a new car.

[Dave Hedgehog]

jackpe said:

That 964 RS is going to make way more.. desirable colour and negligeable mileage. Basically a new car.

i tend to agree as this one went for 270k euro's last year, and things are way more crazy now

http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1065...

[Some Gump]

I don't get why anyone would pay that for an RS. Despite the internet reputation, they're just not that good in standard trim - the damping is just way out for a road car, and bumps make the whole thing mental - and it's not that better on track, still oversprung and underdamped.

Sure, whack a set of proflex dampers on there and the car is class, but you could do that to any 911 of the era. Ok, it's a bit lighter, but again 60 odd k buys a lot of mag wheels and door cards. 150k for an rs, or 50k for a properly, properly fettled carrera 2, leaving change for a caterham, a luxo barge and an ignis? I know what i'd choose!