Magazine Archives - Road Scholars - Vintage Porsche Sales and Restoration

Where do our treasures go when they retire?

Photos by Brian Rozar American Express, in its Departures magazine for May/June 2019 has caught on to something automobile enthusiasts and collectors have known for perhaps fifty years. In a back-of-the-book feature titled “In High Gear” writer Brett Berk observes “Vintage cars have joined the art establishment with four-wheeled masterpieces being sold to the same […]

Luftgekühlt 2019 Goes Hollywood

Photos by Randy Wells and Andrea Wells Last weekend’s Luft 6 was an opera and a treasure hunt. All the elements were there. A welcoming overture, some amazing props, enthusiastic actors, a musical score, an aria, an enticing libretto, some drama, a hero, and an energizing finale. The stage was where so many other visuals […]

DEREK BELL – All My Porsche Races (Book Review)

The new book by Porsche racing legend Derek Bell, with author Richard Heseltine, is filled with amazing unpublished photographs and stories. The short version of this review is that it is a most worthy purchase for any motorsports fan or Porsche enthusiast. For more read on. I worked with Bell recently while photographing for the […]

Is it genetic, or is it environmental?

My first 911 Photos by Sean Smith How does something as simple as car become so important in your life that it verges on a religious experience? It takes you from point A to point B, it carries your stuff, it leaves you stranded by the side of the road, and it unendingly rips dollars […]

Editor’s Note: April 2019

On 10 April 2019 a gas leak in the Brightleaf District of Durham, North Carolina, led to an explosion and fire that killed one individual and injured two dozen others. It also destroyed one building and severely damaged a non-descript older building beside it. The exterior may have been unremarkable but this was by intent. […]

Ingram Collection: The People’s Porsche Collection

Photos by Brian Rozar As many of you know, my parents own the Ingram Collection. Perhaps it’s better known as the People’s Porsche Collection, as I’ve come to understand from the heartfelt messages we have received from across the globe. We have received an overwhelming number of messages of support after the tragic gas explosion […]

Amelia Island 2019 The Sun Also Rises on Sunday

Written by Bruce Sweetman Photos by Bruce Sweetman As the rising sun filters through the live oaks bordering the Golf Club of Amelia Island, antique, vintage, classic, and racing cars move onto the fairways. Moving under their own power each is directed to its appointed place on the manicured grass. On any other day they […]

Amelia Island Auctions Results

Compiled by Randy Leffingwell Amelia Island promises to be a rich, full weekend of Porsche offerings. Below you will find our usual listing of cars on offer from Bonhams, Gooding & Company, and RM Sotheby’s. In our April issue, we will return with the prices each achieved as the gavel fell (or the price at […]

Fort Lauderdale Auction Results

Fort Lauderdale Auction Results Compiled by Randy Leffingwell RM Sotheby’s Fort Lauderdale Auction Results 29-30 March 2019 Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center 1950 Eisenhower Boulevard Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 Previews: Thursday 28 March 2019 4:00PM to 8:00PM Sales: Friday 29 March 2019 10:00AM until conclusion Saturday 30 March 2019 10:00AM until conclusion Lot 1026 […]

Editors Note: March 2019

While researching for a book I am writing I stumbled on an item in the July 1962 issue of Road & Track in their monthly column “People & Places.” Reading it in early 2019 makes clear how much things have changed: “A report of a survey among Porsche owners made by PORSCHE of America has […]

Market Observations

The Amelia Island Concours is quickly approaching with an auction weekend that has become known in the industry as the place to sell your Porsche. In many ways, the announcement of the Drendel Family Collection sale of 18 Porsches in 2012 at Gooding & Company was a Malcolm Gladwell “match point” event that forever changed the Porsche […]

The Early 911, Film, and Vinyl

Photos by Randy Wells You’ve probably read enough analogies of sports cars, fine cameras, and luxury audio equipment in high-end lifestyle magazines to get the idea that journalists are passionate about these things in a big way. I’m not immune, and vinyl records, Leica rangefinders, and Porsche 911s have been a fascination of mine since […]

Paris Auctions 2019 Results

All prices quoted here are without buyers commissions or applicable taxes. The website www.hammerprice.com contributed to this reporting. RM Sotheby’s Paris Auction Place Vauban Paris, France 75006 6 February 2019 For further information: information@rmsothebys.com Preview: Tuesday, 5 February 2019 10:00 – 20:00 Central European Standard Time (CET) Wednesday, 6 February 2019 10:00 – 16:00 CET […]

Amelia Island Auctions Previews

Amelia Island promises to be a rich, full weekend of Porsche offerings. Below you will find our usual listing of cars on offer from Bonhams, Gooding & Company, and RM Sotheby’s. In our April issue we will return with the prices each achieved as the gavel fell (or the price at which bidding stopped.) Bonhams […]

Editor’s Note: February 2019

With this issue, Road Scholars Magazine starts its fifth year. If you’ve been with us since 2015, we are deeply grateful to you, and we hope you’ve enjoyed what we have presented. If you’ve been with us only since January 2019, we still are grateful, and we hope all of you will enjoy what’s ahead. […]

Sandra McNeil, her Porsche 904, and the Rest of the Story

Written by Bruce Sweetman Photographs by Bruce Sweetman and Chip Perry “Sandra McNeil, #33, is racing a 1964 Porsche 904,” the announcer proclaimed over the Laguna Seca PA system at Rennsport Reunion VI. And the rest of the story is… Sandra McNeil is a petite 78 year-old dynamo and she takes racing seriously. “I keep […]

Arizona Auctions

Compiled by Randy Leffingwell All prices listed reflect the close-of-sale figure when the auction hammer fell. These do no include buyer’s premiums or other taxes and fees as applicable. The figures quoted come from www.hammerprice.com. Bonhams The Scottsdale Auction The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa 6902 East greenway Parkway Scottsdale, Arizona 85254 17 January 2019 […]

Paris Auctions 2019

RM Sotheby’s Paris Auction Place Vauban Paris, France 75006 6 February 2019 For further information: information@rmsothebys.com Preview: Tuesday, 5 February 2019 10:00 – 20:00 Central European Standard Time (CET) Wednesday, 6 February 2019 10:00 – 16:00 CET Sale: 18:00 until finished CET Lot 127 – 1973 Porsche Typ 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Touring – Estimate: […]

Editor’s Note – January 2019

Happy New Year! We hope you all enjoyed happy holidays. We start out 2019 as we have each of our four years so far, with a couple interesting stories and with auction information. We open the issue with Randy Wells taking us “Back to the Flats,” as in Boneville, to revisit his friend and Turbo […]

BACK TO THE FLATS – The Search for Salt Gains New Traction at Bonneville Speedway

When Road Scholars Magazine won the 2016 Motor Press Guild “Best Automotive Feature Article of the Year” with my “Searching for Salt,” I wasn’t sure if Bonneville Speedway would survive moving forward. After all, long-term federally leased mining had removed 60 million tons of salt brine from the flats over the previous 65 years. In 2014, the […]

Porsche 911 SC “Safari” Tribute

Photos by Randy Wells Nineteen Eighty-Two was a good year to buy a new 911. The 911 SC had a galvanized body with rear flares standard, a 3.0-liter aluminum case engine, and a driving experience that was as good as any other early ‘80s sports car. Twenty years later wasn’t a bad time to buy […]

Arizona Auction Preview

Bonhams The Scottsdale Auction The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa 6902 East greenway Parkway Scottsdale, Arizona 85254 17 January 2019 Previews: Tuesday 15 January 2019 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Wednesday 16 January 2019 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Thursday 17 January 2019 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Sale: Thursday 17 January 2019 From 11:00 […]

The Petersen Automotive Museum Auction

The Petersen Automotive Museum Auction 6060 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036 For more information: info@rmsothebys.com Preview: Friday, 7 December 2018 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Auction: Saturday, 8 December 2018 12:00 p.m. until finished The prices listed here are the figure when the gavel dropped, and are quoted from HammerPrice, before application of any […]

Editors Note – December 2018

There’s news. As you all likely know, Porsche introduced its next generation 911 – type-named the 992 – in Los Angeles on Wednesday, 28 November, at LA Automobilia, the Los Angeles auto show. The car has appeared in more spy photos than most celebrities fear have been made of them. What’s more, Porsche hosted…

Launch Date: 28 November 2018 – Los Angeles, California

There have been plenty of spy photos and a fair amount of printed information in the enthusiast magazines. Most of us pretty much knew what this new 911, better-known-as-the-992, looks like. Yet we were still buzzing about it, waiting to see it in-the-flesh. We may have been packed in tightly but we were not alone, what with some ringers in the front row named Webber, Haywood and Long.

A Fork In The Road, The Journey Continues

After 15 years of building Road Scholars, Kevin and I have decided to move in new directions and have dissolved our partnership. I have some ambitious ideas for moving Road Scholars into a new era and Kevin has an exciting new endeavor that he’s pursuing. We have both realized our good fortune in our journey […]

A 356 on Mt. Equinox

Photographs by Sean Smith Tom Miller has been buying and selling cars since he was fifteen years old. He started with a few Mustangs, then a couple of pick-up trucks. After that he got himself a VW bug; this got him involved in small-bore, German engineered cars. From there he went through a whole bunch […]

Driven to America

The chilly pre-dawn air brought a mist that blanketed the great lawns of the De Seversky mansion in Long Island, New York. Through the dark, halogen-beam headlights shone their yellow-brown light across the sweeping driveway leading to the mansion, the unmistakable bass and clatter of nearly a hundred air-cooled engines playing the morning soundtrack.

The Petersen Automotive Museum Auction Preview

The Petersen Automotive Museum Auction 6060 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036 For more information: info@rmsothebys.com Preview: Friday, 7 December 2018 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Auction: Saturday, 8 December 2018 12:00 p.m. until finished Lot 195 – 1957 Porsche Typ 356 A 1600 Speedster – Estimate: $350,000-400,000. Lot 198 – 1987 Porsche Typ 959 […]

Editor’s Note – November 2018

Most of you are aware that RM Sotheby’s conducted an all-Porsche auction at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Immediately following this note, please read our regular commentator Kevin Watts. Our sister publication Road Scholars Insight sent out an e-mail blast on the morning of the sale with Kevin’s previews and prognostications, and he addresses those observations…

Watts Thoughts on the 70th Anniversary Auction

Well, another few auctions have come and gone and overall the results were consistent with late October early November weather, Cold and Damp. We will start with RM/Sotheby’s Porsche sale in Atlanta the take a quick peek at the Porsches for sale a separate Bonham’s auctions in Padua, Italy.
RM/Sotheby’s sale in Atlanta went much as expected with my partner Cam, and my colleagues Tim and Phil attending…

Selling 70 Years of History

RM Sotheby’s and Porsche Cars North America collaborated to bring together more than 60 desirable Porsche models from various collections, plus a plethora of collectibles and a multitude of memorabilia. A four-cam 356 B Carrera GT/GTL engine sat next to a 356 A chassis originally used by Hoffman Motors technicians for training purposes. RM Sotheby’s staff set more incredible models against the curved wall of glass…

Auction Results – November 2018

RMSotheby’s The Porsche 70th Anniversary Sale Porsche Experience Center Atlanta One Porsche Drive Atlanta, GA 30354 Preview: Public: Friday, 26 October 2018 10:00am – 5:00pm Private: Saturday, 27 October 10:00am – 1:00pm Sale: Saturday, 27 October 1:00pm until conclusion RM Sotheby’s will collect a “Buyers’ Premium) on each lot at the following rates: For sales […]

Editor’s Note – October 2018

By everyone’s accounting, Rennsport Reunion VI was the best of all six. It drew a crowd of some 81,500 faithful to Monterey’s WeatherTech Raceway – Laguna Seca for four days of sights and sounds and sensations. We have devoted nearly this entire issue to showing you what caught our attention, through the few words and […]

Market Ramblings

As most you know I follow and absorb any and all available intel on the classic car market that I can get my hands on. The classic car market has seemingly been slipping in the last 3 years or so but few have really noticed. The market as a whole remains strong for the finest examples […]

Mecca at Monterey

Some travel to South Western France to visit Lourdes, some to Memphis Tennessee to visit Elvis Presley’s grave, some travel to the Black Rock desert in Nevada for Burning Man. But for the faithful of the cars from Zuffenhausen, they had to make their pilgrimage to Monterey county California and climb the hill to Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca for Rennsport VI and they did 81,550 strong.

Almost Too Much Porsche – Rennsport Reunion VI

Thursday, September 27—WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca has been transformed into a one-marque Wunderland. Photomurals on fences and barriers portray Porsche’s 70-year racing history, and everywhere you turn you are greeted with the cars, the nomenclature, and the smiling faces of those who represent the marque. Welcome to Porsche-land.

Auction Preview : RMSotheby’s – The Porsche 70th Anniversary Sale

Editor’s Note – September 2018

Welcome to a very fat – well, long – September issue of Road Scholars Magazine. The post-Monterey coverage always gives us plenty to talk about and we are happy to start with our regular commentator Kevin Watts giving us his observations and opinions on the auctions.
Next we move into the feature content, going first to Sean Smith’s entertaining second installment telling of Joel Rosenblatt’s Targa tales crossing the U.S. on the way to his…

Monterey 2018 Review by Kevin Watts

Well, the Monterey car week is over with interesting results. The week over all just didn’t seem as crowded as it has in years past and it was noticeable in the auction crowds. The numbers of people may have been slightly off but the sales, that’s another story. By all accounts the auctions were a huge success with […]

A “Sea of Green” and Every Other Color on an Avenue in Carmel

If anywhere in the car world there was a real-life Pepperland, a place of love and flower-power, a hidden place both up near the sun and beneath the waves, it would have to be the Concours on the Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea, the kick-off event of the mêlée that is Monterey Car Week. Somehow, it maintains its charm despite years of fans pronouncing it the worst kept secret, as it is the most charming and fun event of the week.

The 2018 Werks Reunion Monterey – California loves Porsches; Porsche loves California

California has been an important and lucrative market for Porsche ever since John von Neumann purchased a 356 in New York from Max Hoffmann in early 1951 and drove it across the country to his North Hollywood shop, Competition Motors. “I sold the first one and went back east and bought several more,” he is quoted as saying in Karl Ludvigsen’s Excellence Was Expected, “including a Le Mans racing coupe.”

A Fork in the Road Part II

Joel can’t remember if it was his idea, or if a friend jokingly said “Why don’t you drive to your gigs!” It was the start of Something Big. An early GPS was purchased along with a 60GB iPod, both for ridiculous dollars. (These days, all that is in everyday smartphones.) A few Rand McNally’s atlases to help with directions, a 12V fridge, some cymbals, sticks, tools, camping gear and clothes, and a radar detector.

Monterey Auctions Wrap Up

The Annual Monterey Porsche Auction Frenzy & Spectacular may have seemed a bit subdued around July 4th when we compiled the preview we published soon after that. Since then, consignees emerged from their garages and the woodwork, filling out catalogs with all variety of interesting autos.And the auction weekend has proven to be anything but sublime. Ridiculous? No evidence of that yet, but…. Perhaps you can best think of another word to describe what happened?

Editor’s Note – August 2018

We’ll get right to the point: The five auction houses offering cars on the Monterey Peninsula have listed – to date – 134 Porsches for sale. That’s not a record however; one year quite recently had nearly two dozen more. But then this is early August and at least two of these houses

Monterey Pre-Auction View

Well, gang it’s that time of year. Time for the continuing saga we call Monterey car week. Let the shit show begin.Lots of exciting happenings on the peninsula this year with the events stacked up. The week will kick of on Tuesday the 21st with the Concours on the Avenue, in Carmel, our favorite event. This show is awesome if you’re a car guy;

A Fork in the Road

Like many of us, Joel Rosenblatt got the car thing from his dad. Dad was mechanically inclined and he liked weird cars. Today, that’s way cool—but back then Joel just wanted to fit in. He wanted to be dropped off at school in a Chevy or a Ford, but his dad as rocking a Citroen DS19, then a DS21. There was Peugeot 404 and even (gasp) a Borgward Isabella. Luckily there were a

A LOOK BACK IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR – PART 2 | Remembering SoCal Car Culture with Chuck Miller and his 1973 911S

In 1972, after riding in a well-driven 1969 Porsche 911S, Chuck Miller became convinced that he needed one. Chuck was a SoCal car enthusiast who had owned Volkswagen Bugs and an Alfa Romeo Spider previously. Keeping his White ‘67 Cal-Bug with its 1776 cc motor seemed like the more sensible decision however, and it wasn’t until February of 1989 that he went in

Monterey Auctions Preview

The Annual Monterey Porsche Auction Frenzy & Spectacular may have seemed a bit subdued around July 4th when we compiled the preview we published soon after that. Since then, consignees have emerged from their garages and the woodwork, filling out catalogs with all variety of interesting autos.
The obvious stars are David Gooding with a 1955 Typ 550-0053, Dana Mecum with a 1958 Typ 550A-0141, and RMSotheby’s with a 1957 Typ 550A-0116.

Editors Note – July 2018

We all may be in denial. Wait! Is it really…that time? Already?
The verdict is yes it is. You had better have flights and rental cars and hotel rooms booked by now. And tickets and dinner reservations and…if you’re shopping…letters of credit on file. The good news is we have other things to show you before we remind you to confront the calendar.

2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb: The Unmovable Object Meets The Irresistible Force

Romain Dumas has often described his first Pikes Peak, in 2012 when he lost to Rhys Millen by .017 of a second, as the worst day of his life. If we take him at his word, then June 24, 2018 had to be his best. Not only did he win the race overall, but his time of 7:57.148 smashed Sebastian Loeb’s 2013 record of 8:13.878, making him and his Volkswagen I.D.

A LOOK BACK IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR – PART 1 Remembering SoCal Car Culture with Chuck Miller and his 1973 911S

Chuck Miller is not used to looking in his mirrors. If you are chasing him and his Porsche 911 through the Santa Monica Mountains in California, it’s your responsibility to keep up.
Keeping up with Chuck could be a full time job. A SoCal native and ardent car enthusiast, Chuck is well known in the early 911 community for the very reason that he is always involved.

Monterey Auctions Preview 2018

Compiled by Randy Leffingwell The Annual Monterey Porsche Auction Frenzy & Spectacular seems a bit subdued this year. Admittedly, we compiled this list shortly after July 4, more than seven weeks before the sales are scheduled. In this same time span last year, the sales houses added nearly 40 cars to their preliminary lot lists […]

Editors Note – June 2018

If the paint scheme on the car in this Le Mans pits photo looks familiar, it should be. Porsche used it once before on a legendary Typ 917 racer during the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1971. The car had controversial – but more aerodynamic – bodywork. Inside Porsche, it had the nickname “Big Bertha.” Styling chief Tony Lapine hated its bloated looks and asked competition director Ferdinand Piëch if they really had to race it. Lapine reported years later this Piëch replied, “Yes, but you can paint it!” When the transporter doors opened at Le Mans…

THE 2018 MEXICAN 1000 – Making Porsche Racing History in Baja

Jeff Gamroth is sweating and stooped over from exhaustion. He and his Rothsport Racing team have just replaced the transmission of his Porsche 964 #89 in a little shop in the middle of nowhere in less than 45 minutes.
“Well, nobody said it was going to be easy,” he quips between tacos and gulps of ‘real’ Coca Cola. “We broke the bell housing on…

Pikes Peak Inaugurates New Cayman GT4 Clubsport Class

The buildup to each year’s Pikes Peak Hill Climb offers some intriguing questions about performance, weather, road surface, and who will offer a car/driver combination that might challenge Sebastian Loeb’s now five-year old record time of 8:13.878. Thinking of the race from only the record-challenging aspect, one prospect comes to mind, the electric powered VW I.D. R Pikes Peak special driven by three-time overall winner Romain Dumas.

Auction Results May 2018

Bonhams: The Monaco Sale “Les Grandes Marques à Monaco” Sale: 11 May 2018 18:00 on, C.E.S.T. Subject to buyer’s premium of 15% plus VAT Sale prices listed here are the hammer price, without buyer’s premium or VAT and are quoted from www.hammerprice.com Lot 108 – 1959 Porsche Typ 356B Roadster – Estimate: $140,000-210,000 – Sold […]

Editors Note – May 2018

It’s spring, seemingly everywhere. Even in the deepest darkest reaches of central Massachusetts where my friend George Reilly reported a snow storm just a few weeks ago and temperatures nearing 80 degrees just days ago. He’s waiting for spring rains to wash away the road salt his state uses generously to make roads passable in […]

Upcoming Auction Previews

Bonhams: The Monaco Sale “Les Grandes Marques à Monaco” Previews: 10 May 2018 10:00-18:00 C.E.S.T. 11 May 2018 10:00-18:00 C.E.S.T. Sale: 11 May 2018 18:00 on, C.E.S.T. Subject to buyer’s premium of 15% plus VAT Lot 108 – 1959 Porsche Typ 356B Roadster – Estimate: $140,000-210,000 Lot 115 – 1973 Porsche Typ 911 Carrera […]

Father’s Day Books You Want!

Over the past months a number of new, significant books have appeared. We’ll show you five we think are particularly noteworthy – and well worth the investment. Racing and Recipes – The Racing Cookbook; Jürgen Barth and Rüdiger Mayer. 2017 reality media production, Edition Porsche Museum. 160 pages. ISBN: 978-3-9819070-1-8. $49.95 from www.amazon.com. More information […]

PLAYTIME AT THE EMORY’S SHOP – Rod and Zayne talk toys

Photos By Randy Wells Rod Emory is a well-known builder of outlaw 356s. But his passion extends well beyond full-scale cars. All it takes is one trip to his brand new shop in North Hollywood to reveal a surprisingly comprehensive display of miniature car models spanning decades. As Rod fingers some of his toy cars, […]

Editors Note – April 2018

We chose to delay our “delivery” date to till after dreaded tax day so you might find something enjoyable to distract you. In our April issue, Kevin Watts weighs in on his thoughts about Amelia Island’s auctions and the collector car market in general. Our regular contributor Sean Smith shows us and tells us […]

D-lightful, D-lovely, D-perfect

Photos by Sean Smith For model year 1959, Porsche discontinued the Speedster and replaced it with the Convertible D (D for Drauz, a coach- building firm based in Heilbronn). This model had a taller windscreen, a soft top with a larger rear window, and crank-operated side windows. Normal Porsche seats replaced the lightweight bucket seats. […]

Amelia Island in Retrospective

Well, the auctions are over and I was mostly correct on guessing it would be a shit show. Again, as usual, the great cars brought great prices and the rest left a gaping hole in their owners’ wallets! The auction houses are cleaning up with 10% coming from the seller with additional shipping and registration […]

Auction Results – March 2018

As you probably know, the threat of rain upended the schedules for Amelia Island events in early March. Concours founder Bill Warner chose to shift his show to Saturday, 10 March, and this caused Rob Meyer to move RM Sotheby’s sale to Friday the 9th. Amelia Island Auctions Results: Bonhams The Amelia Island Auction Thursday, […]

Editors Note: March 2018

I hope that by the time you see this March issue, a number of you who came to Los Angeles for the annual literature and swap meet – or Trash & Trinkets as a good friend calls it – you also will recognize the structure shown at the top of the page in this photo Randy Wells made on opening night. This is the Petersen Automotive Museum and it is home to The Porsche Effect. You’ll read about this exhibition inside this issue.

Hero 912

When Porsche’s all-new 911 came on the scene, it was not just a replacement for the 356. It was a whole new car. The 911 was larger, more comfortable, more powerful, and way more money. At $5,500 it was a whopping $1,500 jump over a 356SC. Many 356 owners were not ready to take that jump. How was Porsche going to keep its customers happy until they wrapped their minds around the price on a new 911?

THE PORSCHE EFFECT: After 70 Years, It’s Still Going Strong

Whether you live in L.A. or are contemplating a visit, there’s a special exhibit there that’s not to be missed. “The Porsche Effect” at the Petersen Automotive Museum along the city’s Miracle Mile will knock your socks off. Back in 2016, Petersen Vice Chairman Bruce Meyer suggested a comprehensive Porsche show to Wolfgang Porsche, the son of Ferry Porsche.

Auction Previews and Results : March 2018

Auctioneers around the Western Hemisphere continue to renew their faith in Porsche cars as a viable element for their auction catalogs. This list, comprising three auctions at Amelia Island, Florida, in early March, and three auctions in Paris, France, in early February, list 106 automobiles offered for sale at auction in the past 45 days, 73 at Amelia coming up, and 33 in Paris.

Editor’s Note – February 2018

I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain. I’ve seen sunny days…that I’m glad to see again….This is a personal note to start, if you will indulge me. Some of you know I live in Summerland, California, a sweet, strange village sandwiched between opulent and extraordinary Montecito and wonderful and eccentric Carpenteria. We are part of that near-idyllic cluster of towns from Carp through Summerland,

Arizona 2018 Commentary

Well, it’s that time of year again and it was my first real outing after that year long vacation and all I can say is not much has changed with the exception of “The Speculators have left the building!” As I’ve been saying the collector car market hit its peak of speculation in 2016 and has been on a glide path down ever since…

Adriatic Blue Perfection

Stephen Grisanti grew up in an apartment in Mt. Vernon, NY. At the time, his experience with cars was limited to joyfully washing and waxing his dad’s Cadillac. He did a really good job. His dad got a kick out of young Stephen sliding off the highly Armoralled seats. Stephen’s first transportation was his much-loved white “Ross Professional” bicycle, which shone just as brightly as his daddy’s Caddy.

Results from the Arizona Auctions in January

With the 2018 auction year opener now in history books, it’s safe to say little history was made. But observations can be – as hopefully you have read in Kevin Watts’ commentary earlier in this issue. Without further ado, here are the results.

Editors Note January 2018

We begin the year with Shock and Awe, a story of Love at First Sight that regular contributor Bruce Sweetman has found for us. In it, we meet Nashville, TN, Porsche mechanic and enthusiast Jay Gould and his startling 1973 911S. From there we return to the Pacific Northwest where Randy Wells wraps up his profile of autocross legend

Shock and Awe – or Love at First Sight

There seems to be a consensus in the Porsche community that 356s and early 911s should be afforded a certain amount of respect in terms of presentation. So what do you make of an olive 1973 911S with neon-red cookie cutter wheels and a faux leopard skin-trimmed interior? Owner Jay Gould’s 911S

THE MASTER – Porsche autocross legend Dwight Mitchell talks about his old 911 (Part 2)

As described in Part 1 of this story last month, Dwight Mitchell’s persistent competitive streak and his old 1971 911 are the stuff of legends. The car’s current owner and fellow racer, Pat Costin agrees, “It’s rumored it has more race wins than any other car on the autocross circuit. I know it’s the first Porsche 911

Previews for the Arizona Auctions in January

As you all know, January wastes no time in launching the year long auction frenzy that begins at the end of the third week in Scottsdale and Phoenix. This year, examining Bonhams, Gooding & Company, and RM Sotheby’s, we find 57 Porsches offered, ranging from a 1953 Typ 356 Pre-A coupe supercharged

Editor’s Note – December 2017

Welcome back. We hope you survived American Thanksgiving with all its dining table temptations. For our December issue, Randy Wells introduces up to an autocross master with a sixth sense for chassis set up and the best line through the turns. You have Part 1 this month. You’ll see the second half in January. We […]

The Year 2017 is in My Rear View Mirror

My 10 month cancer vacation is over and I got back to work with more questions about the classic car market than ever. Let me explain what I think I see going on in the market. It would seem a lot of collectors were in it just for a return on their investment. Others bought […]

THE MASTER – Porsche Autocross Legend Dwight Mitchell (Part 1)

“We knocked some dust off today,” the 77-year old Dwight Mitchell states matter of factly as he climbs out of his old Porsche warhorse. Minutes earlier a California sunset lit up a dusty parking lot disturbed only by the Signal Orange 1971 911T driven sideways at all times. Both the driver and car are […]

Holiday Book Ideas

While we list only three books, there are many others to consider this holiday season and into 2018. These are three that caught our eyes. Porsche 911 The Ultimate Sports Car as Cultural Icon; Ulf Poschardt. Gestalten, Berlin, 2017 240 pages. ISBN: 978-3-89955-687-2. (Translation by Colin Shepherd.) This is a wonderful end-of-the-day read, a […]

Previews for the Arizona Auctions in January

This is strictly a preliminary view of some of the more interesting Porsche vehicles that the auction houses will offer in Arizona. Lot numbers and estimates are still to be determined. In our January issue we will look closer at these lots, have photos to accompany the most important cars, and we’ll include any additions […]

Editors Note: November 2017

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all! Most of us have good reasons to be thankful, not least of which are family, friends, and Porsches. We hope the coming holidays find you celebrating each of these.To get you started, and because for most of us very few days (if not minutes) pass without music in our lives, we bring you a tale of three

Rock ‘n Porsches

The music world is filled with a variety of personalities and characters and an endless spectrum of tastes and styles that might never come anywhere close to each other, but sometimes there is a common thread that creates a shared tone a universal note. It’s the scream of a Porsche engine. An 11-year old Jol Dantzig was at summer camp, one of the counselors had an electric guitar and amp. He had never seen anything like it before in his life. It was loud like the racecars he had seen at Sebring.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runners

Silence. At last! After hours of nearly relentless droning, quiet. For the second time in a week, a raucous engine had shut down; the first time came prematurely after not quite 36 hours. Silence then brought long faces. This second noisy run went on for 96 before the noise stilled. Then came the applause. And cheering. And then the sounds of champagne bottles and beer bottles popping their tops.

Speedster Wars

It was not unusual for thirty of these low-slung “bathtubs” to show up for a single event. Racing a brand new 1954-1958 Speedster in California was magical.
One of the main draws of competing in the Porsche Speedster was that it was cheaper and lighter than a 356 coupe. Nobody thought anything about driving these “budget” Porsches to the track.

Weapon of War

“Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan” came from the pen of Count Galeazzo Ciano, Benito Mussolini’s son-in-law, and written in his diaries during World War II. The better-known aphorism “Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan,” merely paraphrases the original and has made it easier for many to claim it as their own. Such is the nature of ambition and accomplishment.

Editors Note

Editor’s Note: At the risk of bragging, our co-founder and co-publisher Cam Ingram had a pretty good time at the 67th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on Sunday, August 20, 2017. After several years of exhausting research, preparation, and restoration work, Cam and his Road Scholars Restorations team took First Place in Class O-1, Post War […]

Auction Commentary by Kevin Watts

Well, another auction season in Monterey has come to a close and I’m sorry to say I had to watch it from afar this year. Only being able to see and hear the results and the condition of the cars might just give a different perspective than years past; you be the judge? We will […]

Tailgate Party: Carmel Concours on the Avenue

Photos by Sean Cridland Everyone anticipates the Big Game. For football, it’s the Super-Bowl. For us car-types, it’s Monterey Car Week, culminating in the Pebble Beach Concours and the Rolex Motorsport Reunion. But just like every other big game, the pre-events often eclipse the events themselves. Many see Carmel’s annual Tuesday opener as the highpoint […]

Pride and Predilection: PCA’s Werks Reunion (or, It’s Not a Gang, It’s a CLUB!)

Pride and Predilection: PCA’s Werks Reunion (or, It’s Not a Gang, It’s a CLUB! ) (Or, maybe: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same.) Photos by Sean Cridland For most of the Porsche Club of America’s existence, the PREMIER event was Parade. And that was it. In the early 2000s, […]

September 2017 Auction Results and Previews

Compiled and written by Randy Leffingwell Photographs courtesy of Bonhams, Gooding & Company, and RM Sotheby’s At Monterey, there were more than 150 Porsches available from the five auction companies active that weekend. Study the results carefully. Compare estimates with sales results. Those who have been paying attention during the past five years have […]

August Editor’s Note

This week signals the calm before the storm. The annual excitement at Monterey, Carmel, and Pebble Beach, California, returns, running Monday, the 14th of August through Sunday the 21st. There even are follow-on private events that extend into the week starting the 22nd!

Legacy Porsche 914

There are no garage queens or trailer princesses in Dixon, New Mexico, but you’ll more than likely see a few air-cool Porsches cruising around the mountain roads. And most likely, it will be Gary Smith, his wife Deborah, or their daughter Audrey who are driving them. What’s more, they’ll all have one thing in common: Gary has built them all in his home shop…

Born in the PCA

When Spencer Cox was three years old, his father traded in his Facel Vega and came home with a shiny new 356, starting his son on a life long association with Porsches. While Dad was on track with the 356, Spencer was in the paddock playing with his toy cars, thinking some day “I’m going to be a race car driver and that 356

Auction Results and Previews

At Monterey, there are more than 100 Porsches available from the five auction companies active that weekend. But that’s only the total as of ten days before the first hammer falls. In the meanwhile, there are sales to report from the U.K…

July Editor’s Note

It’s summer. So much so that the annual PCA Porsche Parade looms large on the calendar this month. Scheduled to open Sunday 9 July in Spokane, Washington, it runs through the 15th with the typical variety of activities each parade provides its attendees. We mention the parade particularly because in this issue Randy Wells introduces […]