I wonder if this car will sell anywhere near its estimate.
https://www.mecum.com/lot-detail/CA0...JmnvhQ8.mailto

 

I hope so but I doubt it.

 

$313,000 each. So, roughly 10 x the cost of a 928 in '81. Yeah, right.

There is a fine line between fantasy and fraud....

 

Yeah screw that for that price. I would go buy a Boxer Ferrari for that amount.

 

It certainly is a nice example of these convertibles. But what would make this a "prototype"?

Agreed on the original price. That's a pretty ridiculous claim, and makes the whole ad less trustworthy.

 

Back in 1981, one could buy a house in Malibu for $300,000. The whole page of the sale catalogue sounds like a get-rich infomercial scam.
Steve

 

Drop the last zero off the build cost and then maybe...

 

This car is #8 of the 8 convertibles made for Porsche by Carelli as a study of the viability of making their own 928 ragtop. They were sold for far less than it cost Porsche to have them made but still at a significant premium over a stock 928 of the time.

I can see how they could justify the cost, we have #7 in our shop and there is nothing from the base of the windhield back that hasn't been altered in some way. The additional frame is amazingly stout, no cowl shake on this car whatsoever. The doors, windshield frame and rear seat delete are key identifiers of the Carelli. There is a tubular support matrix underneath where the rear seat was.

I don't know for sure exactly what they sold for but approx. $120k was the number being tossed around when I got spoke with Carelli. The car going up for sale is #8 and was Vittorio Carelli's personal car and the last I knew it's mileage was around 6400.

These are the only 928 soft top cars to be made at Porsche's request, sold on Porsche dealership floors with a full Porsche warrenty. There are a lot of hack jobs out there but they are in no way associated with the factory Carelli cars.

 

thank you for your well educated post... Brings a little more information to the price estimate , that I was not getting from the peanut gallery.. Mecum is a reputable auction house, I'm sure they got the history of the car before posting it in there catalog.

 

Not sure how many of them were red, but this one looks just like the one that was on eBay last year for around $60k. It was for sale for a long time and am not sure it ever sold. I looked at the Carelli's and actually like mine better. The rear decklid treatment on mine looks better where they kept a bit of upsweep at the rear of the door and then made the rear quarters and trunk even with that to break-up the side body line a bit and give it more of a forward tilt visually. The Carelli is completely flat on top from the back of the A-pillar all the way rearward. The Carellii, in stock form, also eliminates use of the rear seats - mine does not and we use if for family excursions (wife and 2 kids 8 & 11 who fit in the back fine) frequently with the top both up and down.

Here are a few pics - there are more on this Shutterlfy Share Site - https://1979porsche928spyder.shutterfly.com/pictures

 

To each their own and I think you do have a beautiful example of a topless 928. I also think the Carelli has a much more finished appearance the way the doors were modified as well as the windshield frame and rear quarters. The top well alone took unbelievable hours and I'm sure a lot of head scratching to make the top hidden when down. This car really looks like it was designed as a convertible.

On the down side, the doors had squared off openings for the windows that cracked. (they couldn't help but crack the way they were designed!) We had to peel off the doorskin where they modified it and improve the bracing then reskin them with radiused corners. All the seals and soft parts were custom made and not exactly easy to reproduce. We are also trying to fit a folding glass rear window at the customer's request.

Keep personalizing them and most of all, driving them! I hope you enjoy yours, it is a beautiful machine.

 

Sold !

 

Interesting story - ugly car.

That lakeside picture is appropriate, since it looks more like a Sea Ray than a 928.

Carelli, the pasta makers!?

 

For a 928 convertible, this looks like the cream of the crop at a good price also.

 

Saw it yesterday. Looked to be in excellent condition.


There was another 928 that sold. A red auto 87. Around 15k. Good looking car but I did not see under the hood of either of these.