Is it a sign of the times or a freaky one-off?
Classic Porsche 911s are a rare find on the collector car marketplace in recent years. A good example of an early 1970s 911T would have been around $50,00 10 or 15 years back. You would be very lucky to find the exact same car today for less than $200,000. The prices of air-cooled 911s from the 1980s and 1990s have been steadily rising along with those for older models, but they remain relatively affordable. Even limited edition cars. That was at least the theory. However, the results of RM Sotheby’s London sale earlier in the week might have thrown that theory out the window.
An avid German collector of limited edition 911s sold eight of them, four of which went for record-breaking prices. By significant margins.
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All four of the record-breaking cars were homologation models in excellent, low-mileage condition. The 1995 993 Carrera RSC Clubsport, one of 100 made, sold for the lowest price at PS403,200 (535,983). The 1993 964 Carrera RS 3.8 – one 55-built – was the last to be sold at PS716,800 ($952,960), setting the benchmark for nearly half a million dollars. The 1993 964 Turbo S Lightweight was next, and it sold for PS974,400 (a staggering $1295,294). This is a world record for any 964-generation 911. However, even that price was not as impressive as the highest bid for the 1995 Porsche 993 GT2 at PS1,848,000 ($2,456,809). Other cars included a 1989 930 Turbo that sold for PS106.400 ($1141,436), a 1997 930 Turbo that sold for PS140,000 (186,100) and a 1973 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight that sold for PS224,000 (297,760). A 1998 993 Turbo S sold for PS313,600 (416,913) Take all of these items together, and you get PS4,726,400 (or $6282,912) – almost a quarter the PS21.65million ($28.78million) total sale amount.
It is too early to know if record-breaking prices reflect a market shift. If they do, then the limited-edition air-cooled 911s will be blue chip status in collector car circles. They are still anomalies and the result of a fierce bidding war.