The 12 Most Expensive Porsches Of All Time
Porsche is one of the world's premier automotive manufacturers and has been responsible for many of Germany's greatest-ever performance cars. Its best models combine pure performance potential with cutting-edge technology, all packaged in a design that's often surprisingly easy to live with every day. Porsche also boasts one of the most storied racing histories of any manufacturer, with wins at many of the world's biggest motorsport events. It's this racing history, alongside the rarity of Porsche's most exclusive cars, that discerning collectors are willing to pay the biggest bucks for at auction.
While Porsche can't quite boast auction records to match the likes of Ferrari, and its most valuable car is a tenth of the price of the most expensive Mercedes-Benz, the priciest Porsches can still fetch eight-figure sums. Using data from auction tracking site Glenmarch, here's a quick rundown of the most expensive Porsches that have ever been offered for public sale. Many of the marque's most iconic road and race cars are represented here, with everything from Le Mans-winning prototypes to one-off 911 specials going under the hammer.
Porsche 911 Turbo Classic Series Project Gold - $3.42 million
The Porsche 911 is one of the world's best-selling performance cars, so finding a truly "one-of-a-kind" example is a tricky task. However, Project Gold is exactly that, a completely unique one-off that was built in 2018. A full 20 years after original production ended, the car is the final ever air-cooled 993 Turbo, with a new-old-stock body shell that was hand-finished by specialists at Porsche's Classic division. Construction of the car took 18 months and relied heavily on the wealth of parts available from the Classic catalog.
The 3.6-liter, six-cylinder engine was also built from brand-new parts to the exact specification that the original 993 would have followed. It also featured a power upgrade to 450 horsepower, of which only 345 911 Turbo S units had been given in the original production run. The car was unveiled as part of the company's 70th anniversary sale, conducted by RM Sotheby's in Atlanta in 2018. The proceeds raised from the car were donated to the Ferry Porsche Foundation.
Porsche 911 Sally Special - $3.6 million
Another one-off 911, the Sally Special was built to pay tribute to the character Sally Carrera from the "Cars" movie series. The car is based on a 2022 911 Coupe, but features special wheels and a unique "Sally Blue Metallic" paint finish to match that of the on-screen character. Much like Project Gold, proceeds from the Sally Special auction were also donated to charity, this time Girls Inc. and USA for UNHCR, the U.N. Refugee Agency. The winning bid for the car reached $3.6 million at RM Sotheby's 2022 sale, making this the most expensive non-homologation Porsche 911 ever sold.
Built on the bones of the 992 Carrera GTS, the Sally Special packed a twin-turbo flat-six engine making 473 horsepower, mated to a seven-speed manual transmission. It also came with a variety of exclusive Porsche accessories, including a book on the car's development process, a second set of wheels with a mounting rack to display them, and a Porsche Design watch.
Porsche 908/02 - $4.19 million
When it comes to determining the value of a race car, there's one thing that's almost always guaranteed to push its price up: Works status. Race cars that were run in period by a factory-backed team represent the very best of what the manufacturer could offer at the time, often boasting superior setups to privateer entries. The Porsche 908/02 sold at a Gooding & Co auction in 2022 was one such Works car, being raced by Porsche at Brands Hatch, Targa Florio, and the Nürburgring, among others.
It also boasted a string of legendary drivers behind the wheel at those races, including Vic Elford, the man who won the Targa Florio, Monte Carlo Rally, and Daytona 24 Hours in a single year in 1968. The car had also been entered into the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times with privateer teams and came with an extensive set of spare racing parts, including "Flunder" bodywork.
Porsche 935 - $4.84 million
Boasting a first in class and second overall at the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans, plus wins at Daytona and Sebring, the Porsche 935 offered by Gooding & Co in 2016 was one of the most decorated endurance cars of its era. It also boasted a well-documented history after its racing days were over, with a full restoration carried out before the car was listed for sale.
Not only was the 935 a successful racer, but it was also one of Porsche's most powerful cars of the era, with 750 horsepower on tap from its 3.2-liter, flat-six engine. That power was sent to the ground through a four-speed manual transmission, with large disk brakes on hand to ensure the car stopped as quickly as it could accelerate. In sum, the 935 represents a high watermark in Porsche's illustrious racing history, and the exceptional price that was reached at the auction proved buyers understood the significance of the car. The hammer fell at $4,840,000, comfortably reaching the car's guide price of $4,500,000-$5,500,000.
Porsche 907 - $4.86 million
Another rare classic with racing provenance, the Porsche 907 auctioned off by Artcurial at the Rétromobile show in 2022 reached an even higher final sale price. It sold for €4,390,400, which using March 2022's exchange rates, equaled roughly $4.86 million. The car frequented all manner of famous circuits and sprints between 1968 and 1973, including the Nürburgring, Monza, Sebring, and Daytona. It also racked up several wins during that period, including an overall win at Jarama in 1969 and a class win at the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Passing between several privateer racing drivers, the car eventually ended up in the hands of Porsche collector Ernst Schuster. He sent the car off for an extensive restoration in the early '90s, then entered it into several classic racing events including the Le Mans Classic after it was restored back to its original condition. The car then stayed in Schuster's collection until the auction in 2022.
Porsche RS60 - $5.40 million
The Gooding & Co auction listing for this 1960 RS60 calls the car "the ultimate development of Porsche's four-cam spyder," with a 1.5-liter, flat-four engine making an estimated 170 horsepower. Over the course of its competitive career, a host of famous drivers sat behind the wheel, including Stirling Moss, Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, and Bob Holbert. It's also one of only four Works RS60s ever built, and one of the only Porsche race spyders of its caliber to be privately owned.
When it crossed the auction block at Pebble Beach in 2015, the car understandably generated a huge amount of interest, and when bidding finished, the tally had reached $5,400,000. That was a record for the RS60, but actually slightly under the price range that auctioneers had expected the car to sell for. In fact, the guide price suggested the car might fetch as much as $7,000,000, which would have made it the second most expensive Porsche ever sold at the time. The record holder at that point, incidentally, was another classic Porsche race car that had sold just a few lots prior at the same auction.
Porsche RS Spyder Evo - $5.62 million
One of Porsche's most successful prototype racers of all time, the Porsche RS Spyder Evo is also now one of the brand's priciest ever cars. Going under the hammer at Gooding & Co's 2022 Pebble Beach Auction, the car fetched $5,615,000, slightly less than its guide price of $6,000,000-$8,000,000. It's one of only 17 RS Spyders built between 2005 and 2008, and one of only a handful to receive the "Evo" upgrade. It was originally raced by Penske Racing during the team's 2007 and 2008 ALMS season and boasts two overall race wins and four further class wins.
With a 3.4-liter V8 engine making 503 horsepower, the RS Spyder Evo had all the raw power it needed to dominate the field, and its carefully sculpted aero and huge rear wing helped keep it firmly glued to the asphalt at high speed. After its racing career ended, the car was exhibited at several high-profile motorsport events, but was kept race-ready should its new owner want to bring it back onto the track.
Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion - $5.67 million
The Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion is not only one of the coolest homologation specials ever made, it's also one of the best Porsches to ever leave the factory, period. Sold through Gooding & Co (which, incidentally, seems to be the auction house of choice for rare Porsche purveyors judging by how many times it appears on this list), the most expensive GT1 Strassenversion fetched $5,665,000. As one of only 20 units built, the car was already exceptionally rare even by supercar standards, but the car in question was also a highly original example.
The 911 GT1 Strassenversion was built as a homologation requirement to allow Porsche to enter GT1 racing, and the company built the bare minimum units to meet regulations. The race version went on to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, cementing its reputation as one of the most distinguished Porsches in living memory. The road version sported a few key differences from its track-only cousin, but with 544 horsepower sent through a six-speed manual transmission and a wild, aero-focused design, the Strassenversion is about as close as it's possible to get as a true race car for the road.
Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar - $5.95 million
The Dakar rally is one of the most prestigious events in the whole of motorsports, and the Porsche 959 sold by RM Sotheby's as part of the company's 70th anniversary sale was one of three Works entries in the 1985 event. It was driven by three-time Dakar winner René Metge, although unfortunately, an oil line failure meant that the car was forced to retire about halfway through the race.
Although seven rally-spec 959s were built by Porsche between 1985 and 1986, four of those are still under the ownership of the automaker's Motorsports division and museum. One further car was destroyed after a rallying accident, leaving the car on offer as one of only two in private hands. Its original engine had been removed for preservation, but was included as part of the sale, along with a selection of original spare parts. Such a unique buying opportunity was clearly not to be missed by deep-pocketed Porsche collectors, and the car eventually sold for $5,945,000.
Porsche 550 - $6.09 million
In its summary of the car, Bonhams described the Porsche 550 it offered at the Goodwood Revival auction in 2016 as a "time machine" that was "considered to be the world's best-preserved, never restored example of [the] seminal Porsche model surviving today." In contrast to the prevailing school of thought that restoration is often essential to preserve cars for the future, the auction house argued that leaving it in its original state of decay enabled owners to appreciate the original craftsmanship in a way that simply wasn't possible otherwise. In short, the 550 on offer was superior because no one had ever tried to spruce it up.
Buyers at the auction evidently agreed with that sentiment, as the hammer fell at £4,593,500, roughly $6.09 million at 2016's exchange rates. That record-breaking figure was no doubt helped by the fact that its exceptional status had already been recognized with an award at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours, one of the world's most prestigious automotive events.
Porsche 956 - $10.12 million
Presented at the same Gooding & Co auction that saw a record high price set for the Porsche RS60, a 956 prototype racer fetched an eye-watering $10,120,000, the first time anyone had paid eight figures for a Porsche at auction. This was no ordinary race car, though: It was the car that won the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans, and was raced in period by Jacky Ickx, Derek Bell, and a host of other famous names. It also had four other overall race wins to its name.
The car packed an estimated 630 horsepower, which was fed to the rear wheels through a five-speed manual transmission. After its competitive career was over, the car had been carefully looked after, with extensive documentation showing its condition and any work that had been carried out. An exceptional example of an exceptional race car, in other words, and something you could feasibly describe as an unrepeatable opportunity for Porsche collectors.
Porsche 917K - $14.08 million
The world's most expensive Porsche is also a movie star, having been used in Steve McQueen's "Le Mans." It was sold by Gooding & Co at the firm's Pebble Beach auction in 2017, having undergone a comprehensive restoration by leading specialists. It ticked all the other boxes for discerning collectors — rarity, pristine condition, and a comprehensive history file. With over 630 horsepower on tap, the car was brutal to drive, and arguably the fastest machine on the track in its day.
The "K" in the name stands for Kurzheck, denoting that this was one of the race cars that featured a factory-installed revised tail section for better stability at high speed. The new tail produced much more downforce, but meant that the car could reach a lower top speed than its predecessors, around 30 mph less. Even so, when the fastest versions of the 917 were reaching 248 mph, even the "slower" version of the car was still jaw-droppingly fast on the track. The car on offer at the auction was one of very few original 917s in private hands, and with a final hammer price of $14,080,000, it's easily the most expensive Porsche ever sold.