WORDS: NATHAN CHADWICK | PHOTOS: RM SOTHEBY’S
RM Sotheby’s has announced a two-day auction filled to the brim with Porsche cars and automobilia, to be held from December 1-2, 2023 in Houston, Texas. Many of the 63 vehicle lots in the Pinnacle Porsche Collection are white, giving it the alternative name of the White Collection.
There are two Porsche tractors to choose from, as well as more than 500 items of memorabilia ranging from art to pedal cars, and skis and sleds to furniture. The majority of the car lots are 911s, but there are two 356 Reutter-built Carreras plus a 356A Speedster, 356 Pre-A Continental, 356 Pre-A 1500 America and 356 C SC, all also by Reutter. There’s also a 944 Turbo Cup, 914/6, 928 S4, 924 Martini Championship Edition and 944 S2 Cabriolet, plus a 918. Away from the Porsches, there’s a 1932 Ford Model 18 Two-Door Custom, 1940 Ford Model OIC Half-Ton Pick-up, 1968 Kellison Sandpiper Roadster, 1952 Kleinschnittger F-125 Roadster and 1955 Volkswagen Beetle Custom.
The auction takes place in December at the as-yet-undefined Houston location. We’ve picked out the top five lots due to go under the hammer.
There are 63 vehicle lots to choose from, as well as more than 500 items of memorabilia
2015 Porsche 918 Weissach Spyder
The leading car in the sale is a unique 918 Weissach Spyder, serial number 656. It was a special order to Porsche’s Exclusive Manufaktur department, and the resultant work added 25 percent to the original purchase price of the car. It is finished in paint-to-sample Grand Prix White with a leather-to-sample Yachting Blue interior with Bianco Leda contrast stitching on the steering wheel, A-pillars, headliner, windscreen surround, dashboard, door panels and lightweight bucket seats. It also features bespoke Yachting Blue seatbelts and carbonfibre floor-mats, in addition to a front-axle lift system, special-wishes 25-foot extended charging cable, HomeLink system and matching Yachting Blue leather luggage.
The Weissach performance package added colour-matched painted magnesium Weissach wheels with red-anodised centre-lock wheel nuts, silver brake calipers and exposed, weave-matched carbonfibre detailing. It also comes with a Porsche 918 Spyder Circle race suit, Porsche 918 Spyder Circle helmet with case (numbered to the car), Porsche 918 Spyder Circle driving shoes (also numbered to the car) and Porsche Design 918 Spyder Circle Chronotimer wrist watch (one of 918), as well as a Martini graphic set in a metal box from Porsche, which has never been applied. It has covered 12 miles from new and is estimated at between $2.5m-$3m.
1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.8
This RSR 3.8 is the last of 51 examples built, and the second of two street versions of the RSR built by Porsche Motorsport with a full leather interior. It took three years to be completed, and was delivered to its UK-based first owner in 1996, two years after the 964 chassis had gone out of production. It would remain unused and protected until early 2015, when it joined the White Collection.
When new it was specified with a twin-ignition Le Mans-specification engine, 120-litre fuel cell, air-jack system, passenger seat, 40 percent locking rear differential, gold brake calipers and Amethyst Metallic Speedline RS alloy wheels. Porsche Exclusive trimmed the interior with red leather on the dashboard, steering column, headliner, carpets and steering wheel, which has been offset with white leather gauge bezels, air vents, control knobs and door-lock pins. It’s covered 43 miles since new, and is estimated at $2m-$2.5m.
1997 Porsche 911 GT2
This 993 GT2 is one of 17 examples believed to have been delivered new to Japan, out of a total of 194 road-going versions of the 430bhp, twin-turbocharged homologation special. It was imported to Tokyo via Mizwa Motor Sales, Porsche’s main Japanese importer, for a Yokohama business executive and skier. It was equipped with air-conditioning, an electronically controlled locking differential, white foglights, power steering, Speedline RS wheels, front-strut tie bar and Porsche CR-3 radio. In 2009 the car made its way to Germany and then Italy, before joining the White Collection in 2015. Although the wing flares have been repainted, the rest of the car is described as being highly original. It’s covers 9461 miles and is estimated at $2m-$2.2m.
1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight
An original US-delivered car, this is one of just 200 built to full Lightweight specification out of the Carrera RS 2.7 models built. Factory options included a tinted/heated rear window, three-point seatbelts, left and right headrests and, when it was delivered, a repaint from Grand Prix White to Alber Blue. The first owner, one Halsey Frederick, kept the car for many years, replacing the factory seats with custom Recaro items. Collector Otis Chandler bought the 911 in the late 1980s with 32,000 miles on the clock, and set about restoring it to Grand Prix White and the correct factory bucket seats. The car changed hands again in 2001, when it joined the White Collection and was further refreshed. It’s estimated at $1.175m-$2m. If you’re looking for a Touring version, the collection also has one of those, with an estimate of $900k-$1.2m.
1994 Porsche 911 Turbo S X85 ‘Flat-Nose’
This 1994 911 Turbo S is one of 39 examples built for the US, and is one of two believed to be finished in Grand Prix White. The Flat-Nose option made the car the most expensive Porsche of its day, and was originally sold to the Blackhawk Collection in California and remained there until 2016, when it joined the White Collection. The interior is finished in Cashmere Beige supple leather with a Light Rootwood dashboard, parking-brake lever and shifter. It has covered just 39 miles from new, and carries an estimate of $1.5-$2m.
More details on the sale can be found here.
