‘The White Collection’ Sells for Over $30 Million
Despite the eye-popping total and some individual sales records, there were some deals to be found in The White Collection.
The much-anticipated RM Sotheby’s “The White Collection” auction has concluded, and the results are in. As we reported back in October this special auction contained over 500 total lots including 56 highly collectible Porsche sports cars that are all painted a shade of white. The previous owner may have lacked originally but certainly had exceptional taste in automobiles. The collection included some of the rarest and most sought-after Porsche models ever made. Now the lots have been sold and the vehicles are making their way to their new owners. In total the collection grossed over $30 million. And within the collection there were some exceptional results. But believe it or not there were a few bargains to be had as well.
The headline of the auction was the 918 Spyder equipped with the Weissach performance package and many other options. The car has only 12 miles on it. It sold for $3,937,500. A healthy return on the original MSRP of $1,028,200, assuming the original owner purchased it at MSRP. The sales price here is about double the previous high sale price for any other 918 Spyder. The tragedy here is that the original owner never drove the car. And the new owner, after paying this ludicrous amount of money for a 12-mile car, is also unlikely to ever drive it. So, essentially there are now only 917 Porsche 918 Spyders left in the world as this one is destined to dry rot in a garage somewhere.
Million Dollar Cars
The 918 Spyder was the most expensive car sold from The White Collection, but there were about a half dozen other vehicles that sold for at least $1 million. A 1997 911 GT2 went for $2,397,500. A 1993 911 Carrera RSR 3.8 crossed the block at $2,073,000. And my favorite Porsche of all-time the 1973 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight brought in $1,875,000. Many other cars went for well into six-figure territory. Perhaps the most surprising to me was the 1990 911 Carrera 2 Targa that went for $134,400. This car is interesting to me because before going to The White Collection it was a local car in my area. It was sold and serviced at my Porsche dealership. I can’t believe these are now six-figure cars.
Some Deals
With all the high-priced machinery you would think that there was nothing here for the average Porsche enthusiast. But that is not the case as there were a couple of tasty cars that sold for more reasonable sums. A lovely 1990 944 S2 Cabriolet with 16,000 miles, sold for $39,200. The original base MSRP for this car would have been $48,600, or about $114,000 in 2023 dollars. Not every low mileage car is an investment. Another fun and affordable car was the 1977 924 ‘Martini Championship Edition’ that sold for $29,120. A little pricier, but in my opinion, one of the best buys was the 1970 914/6 that sold for $89,600. Unlike some others, this car was driven and has almost 87K miles on it. And it is in great shape and has an impressive ownership history with over 100 pages of maintenance records.
Moving On
The White Collection is no more. The seller appeared to make good money on some of these cars. However, when you consider the cost of the building constructed to store them, staff to look after them and other costs such as insurance, the owner probably didn’t net much profit at the end of the day. The real joy of owning these cars is in the driving. Hopefully the new owners understand this and put some miles on these cars.
Photos: RM Sotheby’s
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