Rare Porsche Auction Proceedings Disrupted by Bizarre Tech Issues
Porsche Type 64 would have set a record for an auction price for the brand, but the hammer never struck.
This past weekend, one of the most significant Porsche race cars in the brand’s legendary history was set to be auctioned off at the RM Sotheby’s auction in Monterey. Monterey Car Week is one of the premier automotive happenings in the United States and with multiple high profile auctions being held, the 1939 Porsche Type 64 was one of many uber-rare machines expected to bring big money. In fact, Soethby’s expected the Type 64 to demand at least $20 million, which would have made it the most expensive Porsche ever purchased at auction.
According to Forbes, due to a freakish technical problem, the bidding for the Porsche Type 64 ended before a buyer was chosen, serving as an unusual black mark on the famous auction company and Monterey Car Week as a whole.
Porsche Type 64
If you are not familiar with the Porsche Type 64, here is a quick rundown.
Although the Porsche brand name was formally introduced in 1931, the company did not produce any cars of its own until 1939. Prior to that, the company simply assist other automakers in building vehicles, including the production of the first Volkswagen Beetle. However in 1939, the company built three examples of their first race, dubbed the Type 64.
Only three examples of the Type 64 were built in 1939 and one was destroyed early in World War II while the Porsche family continued to drive two of them. At some point during the war, one of the remaining Type 64s was tucked away into a storage facility for safekeeping, but in May 1945, American troops stationed in Germany found that stored car, removed it from storage, cut the roof off and used it for joyriding around the countryside until the engine expired. It was scrapped, leaving just one Type 64 in existence, and that is the car being discussed today.
In other words, the Type 64 was the first ever car built by what became the Porsche brand and the car being auctioned off during Monterey Car Week is the only one in existence. As you can imagine, a car with that provenance will demand big money and it was well on its way to setting records when the proceedings of the auction took an odd turn.
The Failed Auction
When the bidding for the last remaining Porsche Type 64 began, the auctioneer set the starting price at $13 million, which was quickly met by one of the bidders. However, the person running the large display monitors thought that the Dutch auctioneer said $30 million, which caused some confusion. When the auctioneer received the $13 million bid and asked for $14 million, which was quickly met, the person running the monitors thought that the price was $40 million. This continued until the bidding reached $17 million and the monitors read $70 million, at which point the auctioneer recognized the problem and halted the bidding.
Due to the confusion, the lot was ended, bidding did not continue and the auction company issued the following statement.
“As bidding opened on the Type 64, increments were mistakenly displayed on the screen, causing unfortunate confusion in the room. We take pride in conducting our world-class auctions with integrity, and we take our responsibility to our clients very seriously. This was in no way intentional on behalf of anyone at RM Sotheby’s, rather an unfortunate misunderstanding amplified by the excitement in the room. The car did reach a high bid of $17 million but did not meet the reserve. We will continue making every effort to sell the car.”
Had the bidding closed at $17 million, which didn’t meet the reserve price, the Type 64 would have been the highest-priced Porsche ever to sell at auction, but with the hammer price expected to be in the $20 million range, this car would have definitely set pricing records for the brand. Unfortunately, due to the odd technical issue, we will have to wait for a future auction to see what someone is willing to pay for the first-ever Porsche car.
Photos: RM Soethby’s
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