If it seems to you like Porsches keep getting more
expensive, that’s because they are. And that goes for both new models and old
ones. In fact the classic Porsche you see here just set a new world record.
The vehicle in question is a 1958 Porsche 550A
Spyder, which aside from winning its class at Reims in France, Zandvoort in
Holland, and the Nürburgring in Germany, also placed second in class at Le Mans
(and fifth overall).
This despite a tiny 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine
that put out all of 110 horsepower. The Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa that won the
French 24-hour race that year packed a V12 twice the size and with nearly three
times as much power.
The German automaker made only 40 of these “giant
slayers,” leaving them highly sought-after among Porschephiles and classic-car
collectors. With so much history behind it, this example set a new world record
for the 550A when it sold for US$ 5.17 million at Bonhams’ auction in Scottsdale
over the weekend. (Rival auctioneer Gooding & Company sold another 550
Spyder, sans the A, at Amelia Island in 2016 for US$ 5.35m.)
That’s a big figure for a Porsche, whose big Group 6
and Group C prototypes – like the 917 and 956 – have been known to sell for
millions, or even tens of millions, on the rare occasion when they come up for
auction.
The 550A was the top lot at the Bonhams auction this
year, joined by a Ferrari Daytona Spider that sold for US$ 2.64 million, and an
F40 and Mercedes 300SL Roadster that each went for US$ 1,512,500. All told,
Bonhans sold 87 percent of the lots consigned for a total of over US$ 25 million.
