Air-cooled Porsches set new records at Amelia Island Auction

Last month, we brought you news of the super-rare Porsches set to go under the hammer at the Gooding & Company Amelia Island Auction. A 1959 718 RSK set pulses racing in advance of the sale, as did a fine selection of other special sports cars from Zuffenhausen, including a 2005 Carrera GT and a 1993 964 Carrera RS 3.8 Clubsport, the latter built at the request of Tobias Hagenmeyer, CEO of transmission giant, Getrag. Presented in black with yellow accents, the air-cooled rarity features seven wholly unique characteristics not found on any other RS 3.8. Thought to be the lowest-mileage, most original 3.8 Clubsport extant — and arguably the finest RS of its kind — this air-cooled 911 has never before been publicly exhibited or offered for sale.

A 1998 RUF Turbo R Limited also generated interest in the lead-up to the sale, scheduled a day ahead of the weekend’s Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. Then, just as we went to print, Gooding & Company announced a late entry to proceedings: 904/6 chassis 906-011, a historically significant Porsche race car which made its debut at the Le Mans test weekend in April 1965 and, later that year, was entered in the Mont Ventoux Hillclimb and the Grand Prix of Solitude. After this season, the car was retired from Porsche’s racing department.

TOPPING THE TARGA

With a design uniquely purposed for outstanding aerodynamic qualities, the 904 proved to be an extremely successful race car, capturing a stunning 1-2 finish at the 1964 Targa Florio, outlasting Cobras, Ferraris, Abarth-Simcas and even another 904 which once held the lead. For the 1965 season, Porsche built twelve new 904s for factory use, including several ultra-lightweight hillclimb cars, constructing them alongside updated six-cylinder models. Just six of these 904/6 coupes were built, each equipped with a competition-ready version of the then new Type 901 six-cylinder engine. Rectangular-shaped air intakes on the rear deck featured, as did a centrally located fuel filler and shorter doors.

All Porsches offered at the Amelia Island auction were sold, the leading example being the 718 RSK, which achieved $2,975,000 after an engaging bidding war. 904/6 chassis 906-011, meanwhile, achieved a remarkable figure of $2,205,000. The aforementioned Carrera GT shattered the recently set world record at auction for the model by selling for $2,012,500 (eclipsing the $2,000,000 million achieved earlier this year), while the Hagenmeyer 964 Carrera RS 3.8 Clubsport also set a new model world record, yielding a final sale price of $1,875,000.

Within the same realm, the gorgeous Riviera Blue RUF Turbo R Limited stunned auction attendees by becoming the most valuable RUF ever purchased at public sale, generating a winning bid of $2,040,000. Porsche was the most represented marque at the auction. Modern 911s commanded strong sale prices. A 2001 996 GT2, for example, sold for $240,800, while a 2018 991 Gen II GT3 Touring brought in $302,000 after a considerable bidding battle. The event’s most successful lot? A 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS Teardrop Coupe, which fetched $13,425,000.