INSANE Porsche collection headed to auction...
Full article: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/03...8&viewall=true
In the world of car auctions, there are sales, and then there are Sales. Consider this one of the latter: On Friday, Gooding & Company will auction an 17-car lot of turbocharged Porsches known as the Drendel Family Collection. The sale is nothing short of a landmark.
The man who owned this collection, Matthew Drendel, was just 35 when he died in 2010. At the time of his death, he had amassed what is widely considered one of the most significant collections of turbocharged Porsches ever assembled. Many of these cars have never before been offered at auction, and flipping through the sales catalog offers what is essentially a potted education in the history of blown Porsches. We've selected 10 to showcase here, based on nothing more than personal preference.
The man who owned this collection, Matthew Drendel, was just 35 when he died in 2010. At the time of his death, he had amassed what is widely considered one of the most significant collections of turbocharged Porsches ever assembled. Many of these cars have never before been offered at auction, and flipping through the sales catalog offers what is essentially a potted education in the history of blown Porsches. We've selected 10 to showcase here, based on nothing more than personal preference.
This is a 1973 Porsche 917/30 Can-Am Spyder. It is one of just six built, and in current trim, it produces around 1,200 horsepower at 8,000 rpm.
This is a 1974 RSR Turbo 2.14, just one of just four constructed. It produces some 450 horsepower from a 2.1-liter flat six with a single turbocharger. It is one of the most important 911s ever built.
This car is a 1976 934, built for Group 4. The 934 was essentially a turbocharged version of the Porsche 911 RSR, a mildly modified (at least by racing standards; the 934 was still largely a track-spec beast) version of the 930, the first production 911 Turbo.
The Porsche 935 we just mentioned? This is the first one—chassis #930-570-0001. It was the prototype used for all testing and development work, and the first Porsche to carry a 930-prefix chassis number. It was a direct evolution from the RSR Turbo 2.14, but it produced more power — most estimates put the figure close to 600 horsepower, though as much as 630 was available for short bursts.
This 1980 Porsche 924 GTP is the third of just four built. It was, effectively, a competition version of the 924 Turbo. Its single-turbo, 2.0-liter four made 320 horsepower. This particular car was Porsche's American entry at Le Mans in 1980, where it finished 13th overall with Derek Bell and Al Holbert at the wheel.
Drendel's car was the first 962 chassis to score a race victory. It won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1986 and 1987, notched 15 overall wins between 1984 and 1987 and helped Holbert Racing rack up three championship seasons. It is car 962-103 with a 3.1-liter, single-turbo flat six good for 720 horsepower. It is the kind of thing that will make your toes itch.
As a model, the 944 Turbo Cup was built for a spec series — a racing series where all cars are identically prepared from a single model. Porsche whipped up the 944 Turbo Cup series in 1985 as a way to provide amateur racers with an easy entry into motorsport.
This is one of the special ones. It is a 1992 968 Turbo RS, one of just four produced. The 3.0-liter, single-turbo four-cylinder makes 350 horses. It is the ultimate evolution of the front-engine, four-cylinder Porsche, and built strictly for competition. It makes more power than any other factory-built four-cylinder Porsche.
This particular GT2 won its class at the 1996 12 Hours of Sebring and finished second in class at the 1997 24 Hours of Daytona. It was originally campaigned by Champion Porsche of Pompano Beach, Florida, and cost around $180,000.
For all intents and purposes, the 911 GT1 was the ultimate evolution of the 911. It was Porsche's last balls-to-the-wall factory entry at the 24 Hours of Le Mans — yes, a little car called the RS Spyder existed, and yes, it was cool, but the GT1 made it look like a neutered squirrel — and it represents the last great gasp of the twentieth-century 911.
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