Iconic Porsches up for auction

If you have an interest in specific classic or iconic cars, you might have noticed that – some – classic cars, not to mention race cars,  you once aspired to have become unreachable.

It depends obviously which cars you are talking about. The values of classic Porsches and Ferraris have gone through the roof during the past decade and it doesn’t look like the momentum is tapering off.

One of the most significant auctions happening next month is the Amelia Islands auction held in Florida (USA) by auction group Gooding & Company.

Apart from the single vehicles that are up for auction, the current highlight is the The Drendel Family Collection, made up of no less than 18 classic Porsches, of which 10 are offered without a reserve!

President and founder of Gooding & Company pretty much sums it up: “The result of well-developed connoisseurship and deep passion, Matthew Drendel built what has become the world’s most significant private collection of turbocharged Porsches. It’s a very rare occurrence when a refined, single-marque collection of high-quality road and race cars is offered to the public. We feel privileged to have been selected to present the Drendel Family Collection in Amelia Island.”

Here are a few of the highlights:

1973 Porsche 917/30 Can-Am Spyder
Chassis: 917-30-004
Estimate: R25-31 million

Think Porsche racing cars from the 1970s, and it is the 917 that should pop into your mind. This wasn’t only one of the most successful racing cars for Porsche, but also as a whole in the history of motorsport. This model is a 1973 917/30 Can-Am Spyder with a 746 kW flat-12.

This is chassis number four of a total of four completed by the Porsche factory, and has been restored and displayed at selected gatherings such as the Rennsport Reunion. I can’t tell you a lot more about his particular car, except that I remember it being one of fastest cars in my top trumps packets back at school.

1974 Porsche RSR Turbo Carrera 2.14
Chassis: 911 460 9016 (R9)
Estimate: R13-17 million

Called the Carrera RSR Turbo 2.14, this car introduced turbocharged engines for first time in production-based Porsche racing cars. A similar car formed part of Porsche’s Museum exhibition way back in 2007 when I visited it in Stuttgart. I remember this specific profile very well.

This car was used by the factory for development, and was raced in the 1974 season at Nürburgring, Imola and Zeltweg. According to Gooding & Company, few racing cars of this calibre have remained so untouched, making this car an extremely important piece of Porsche history.

1976 Porsche 935/76
Chassis: 930 570 0001 (R14)
Estimate: R13-16 million

As we know, today’s test mule and development cars get crushed once the manufacturer is done with them. A sad thought indeed, but fortunately this was not always the case in the past. This was the first 935 built, used as a prototype and development mule for upcoming Porsche racing cars.

This historically significant example ran as a factory team car under the recognisable Martini & Rossi livery and its podium finishes at Watkins Glen and Dijon helped Porsche capture the Group 5 World Championship in 1976. Also, it is the first Porsche to wear a 930 serial number prefix.

Now, if only I was born into this family!

Tags: auctions, classic cars, Gooding & Company, Porsche