Over the course of this year, RM Sotheby’s will offer more than 40 Porsches from a Swiss collection without reserve. The first group of motor cars from the collection — a docket of 13 vehicles — will be featured at the 2017 RM Sotheby’s Paris sale, to be held 8 February at Place Vauban.
“RM is really changing the game for presenting and selling Porsches at auction. We’re both thrilled and honoured to have been entrusted with this incredible group of cars and can’t wait to bring them to auction in the coming months, starting in Paris,” says Oliver Camelin, Car Specialist, RM Sotheby’s, and a lifelong Porsche enthusiast.
“The Porsche market has seen tremendous activity of late, with a strong appetite for quality, modern classics in particular; one only needs to look to our London and Duemila Ruote sales of late last year for evidence, where some of the rarest air-cooled 911s reached new auction heights. For a collection such as this, loaded with many of the marque’s heavyweights, to come to market ‘without reserve’ is a very rare and exciting occasion, and we expect will command the attention of the Porsche world. It’s definitely going to be one to watch!”
A 1994 Porsche 911 Turbo S 3.6 will cross the block in Paris. One of 17 built and with an estimated 385bhp on tap, Porsche turned the volume to 11 when they created this example in the late ‘90s. Using the remaining Turbo chassis at the end of the 964 production run in 1994, Porsche Exlusiv produced the special Turbo 3.6 S and sold it to their most important clients. Most were specified with the slant-nose ‘Flachbau’ option, with 17 specifying the traditional-look ‘Package’ body, this example included. Showing under 23,000 miles and completed in Black over Black, it remains ready for further road use (Est. €650.000 – €750.000).
Another turbo-powered edition on offer from the ‘no reserve’ Swiss Porsche collection is an original 1988 Porsche 959 Sport. Having three owners from new and covering 11,281 miles in its near 30-year life, this 959 Sport was purchased new by California Porsche dealer and racer Vasek Polak, who picked the car up personally from Stuttgart and drove it around Europe before returning to America. It retains its original factory fitted seats with racing-style harnesses, rear seat delete, leather-wrapped roll bar and upgraded suspension, all 959 Sport-specific upgrades. One of 29 examples of its kind, it recently spent six months at Stuttgart’s Porsche museum as part of a special exhibit of Porsche supercars, and comes to Paris in original condition (Est. €1.500.000 – €2.000.000).
The collection also features a pair of modern-era, Metzger-powered 996s. The first is a delivery mileage 2004 Porsche 911 GT3 RS finished in Carrera White with red decals. The featured GT3 RS was purchased new by the vendor and comes to market having been driven only 196 kilometres from new. It is one of very few examples to exist in this ‘as-new’ condition and with such low mileage (Est. €200.000 – €250.000).
Lining up alongside the RS is a 2004 Porsche 911 GT2 Clubsport, the most powerful variant of the 996-generation 911, with more horsepower than the Turbo and rear-wheel drive instead of all-wheel-drive. The featured example, one of 70 completed as a Clubsport version, is powered by a six-cylinder, twin-turbocharged engine producing 483bhp, and enjoys further weight savings over the Mk I version. Finished in Silver over Black, it comes to market sporting 24,000 kilometres (Est. €175.000 – €225.000).
Additional Porsche highlights at the RM Sotheby’s Paris 2017 include:
- 1955 Porsche 356 Pre-A 1600 Speedster (Est. €300.000 – €400.000) Silver over black example
- 1981 Porsche 924 Carrera GT (Est. €70.000 – €90.000) One of 406 built for homologation of the 924 to meet Group 4 regulations
- 2000 Porsche 911 GT3 Clubsport (Est. €100.000 – €130.000) Track-only variant of the 996 GT3, less than 7,900 kilometres from new
A complete list of the 13 Porsches on offer ‘without reserve’ from the private Swiss collection at RM’s 2017 Paris sale are available for viewing here.
The additional 29 Porsche vehicles from the Swiss collection will be presented across various RM sales in 2017, including the company’s Amelia Island, Monterey and London auctions.
Coinciding with the Rétromobile week (8-12 February), RM Sotheby’s Paris auction will be held at Place Vauban immediately after the Festival Automobile International which runs through 5 February. This event features a display of concept cars and pays tribute to car designers from around the world.
For further information on RM’s Paris sale, or to view the complete digital catalogue, visit <a href=”http://www.rmsothebys.com” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>rmsothebys.com</a> or call RM’s London office at +44 (0) 20 7851 7070.
[Source: RM Sotheby’s; photos: Remi Dargegen]
