NEW FILM: 1939 PORSCHE TYPE 64 JEFF ZWART AND PATRICK LONG WEIGH IN ON THE OLDEST CAR TO WEAR THE PORSCHE NAME

NEW FILM: 1939 PORSCHE TYPE 64

JEFF ZWART AND PATRICK LONG WEIGH IN ON
THE OLDEST CAR TO WEAR THE PORSCHE NAME

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NEW CAR: RM SOTHEBY’S ADDS
PORSCHE 718 RS 60 TO MONTEREY AUCTION

The Porsche Type 64, chassis no. 38/41 is the antecedent of Porsche’s historical evolution. The first and sole remaining example of a believed three completed cars, this was the personal car of the Porsche family, driven by both Prof. h.c. Ferdinand Porsche and his son, Ferry. Owned and raced for 46 years by successful private racing driver Otto Mathé, the Type 64 carries a 70-year documented chain of a mere three private owners since the Porsche family.

The car is extremely original, and its resemblance to the marque’s evolution through the years, right up to today’s 911 model range, is easily discernable. This is the first car to ever wear Porsche’s iconic wide-font script name and is without a doubt the most historically important Porsche ever offered for public sale. The Porsche Type 64 is estimated to bring in excess of $20 million when it crosses the block during the Saturday evening session of RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale this August.

Joining RM Sotheby’s exceptional Monterey lineup of no less than 20 Porsche models, is a fantastic example of the decades-later development of Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche’s first racing efforts seen in Type 64—a 1960 Porsche 718 RS 60 by Wendler, chassis no. 718-044. The final example of just four Works cars built, the 718 RS 60 was campaigned by the Porsche factory for the 1960 and ’61 seasons. With technical advances over the privateer version of the car, the Works 718 RS 60 was the first Porsche racer capable of threatening larger displacement classes, often competing for outright wins against perennial favourites such as Ferrari.

Chassis no. 718-044 made its factory team debut at the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans, piloted by Jo Bonnier and future motorsports triple crown holder Graham Hill. It would go on to contest the 1961 12 Hours of Sebring, the Targa Florio, and the Nürburgring 1000 KM at the hands of such renowned names as Hans Hermann, Dan Gurney, Sir Stirling Moss, and Edgar Barth. Following its Works career, the Porsche was dispatched to North America and entered by Porsche Cars at the 1961 Mosport Player’s 200, where Jo Bonnier finished second overall. Under subsequent private ownership, the RS 60 was driven by none other than Bob Holbert to two overall victories and a class win during the Bahamas Speed Week in late 1961.

The Porsche has since been fastidiously maintained under the care of several major private collections, making noteworthy appearances at numerous historic events, including the inaugural Le Mans vintage races, Porsche Parade, Goodwood Revival, and Rennsport Reunion just last year following a three-year restoration by marque specialists. Presented wearing its Sebring livery in race-ready condition, and with the other three Works cars held in long-term private ownership, unlikely to be available anytime soon, this RS 60 presents an exceedingly rare opportunity to acquire the ultimate iteration of Porsche’s factory aluminium spyder race cars (Est. $5,750,000 - $7,750,000).

The Porsche Type 64 and 718 RS 60 highlight RM Sotheby’s 2019 Monterey auction. Held during the world-famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance motoring week, RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale has been the pinnacle of collector car auctions for more than 30 years, leading the field and raising the bar with its consistent, record-setting results. This year’s three-day Monterey sale will once again present more than 180 of the world’s most important motor cars in the ultimate collector car destination.

Additional information and an updated list of all cars set for RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale is available at rmsothebys.com.

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME: RM SOTHEBY’S PRESENTS THE OLDEST CAR TO WEAR THE PORSCHE BADGE

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME:
RM SOTHEBY’S PRESENTS THE OLDEST CAR TO WEAR THE PORSCHE BADGE

1939 PORSCHE TYPE 64 BERLIN-ROME SET TO STAR AT MONTEREY AUCTION

THE PERSONAL CAR OF FERDINAND AND FERRY PORSCHE

• RM Sotheby’s to offer the oldest Porsche-badged motor car at record-setting Monterey sale, 15-17 August
• The only surviving example and the personal car of Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche, Type 64 is the direct ancestor of the Porsche 356
• RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale extends to three nights for 2019, kicking off with Evening of Aston Martin on 15 August
• Event information and updated list of entries for Monterey available at rmsothebys.com

 RM Sotheby’s is honoured to announce it has secured the oldest car to wear the Porsche badge for its record-setting Monterey sale—the only surviving 1939 Porsche Type 64 Berlin-Rome, No. 3.

RM Sotheby’s has sold some of the world’s most important Porsches at auction in recent years, including significant models across the marque’s seven decades of production history at the Porsche 70^th Anniversary Auction held at Porsche Cars North America headquarters in 2018. Type 64 predates the first production Porsche—what would become known as the 356.

A strive for technological advancement in motor car performance drove the motorsport industry in the 1920s and 1930s, resulting in some of the most iconic race cars of the period, which served as great sources of national pride. The advent of World War II saw Professor Ferdinand Porsche forced to shift focus to a car for the masses—the KdF-Wagen—however, he retained a vision to produce a lighter, faster version of the model that would showcase the nation’s technology and realize his sports car dreams.

It was a road race that never took place that would give birth to the Type 64. The 1,500-kilometer Berlin-Rome race was set for September 1939 and would be used to promote Germany’s autobahn system as well as celebrate the launch of the KdF-Wagen production car. In preparation for the race, the government-owned Volkswagen commissioned three special long-distance racing versions of the KdF-Wagen, known internally to Porsche and his engineers as the Type 64. Designed by the same engineers who would go on to create the 356, the cars were built at Reutter Works across the street from Zuffenhausen over 1939-1940, with lightweight aluminium bodies and the wheels fully covered in removable alloy panels. While the Type 64 shares the same drivetrain and suspension as the Type 1 Volkswagen, it is otherwise very different. The chassis and riveted alloy body utilize WWII aircraft technology, while the original air-cooled flat-four engine was tuned to 32 bhp. Just as the first of the three cars was finished, and weeks before the Berlin-Rome race was set to start, the war was officially declared and government interest turned to military vehicles, with the first Type 64 becoming property of the German labour front.

A young Ferry Porsche did not give up, and he moved forward with the two additional cars, which would serve as experimental test beds for Porsche as they developed their own production sports car, essentially making the Type 64 the missing link between Volkswagen and the Porsche 356. The second car was completed in December 1939 and the third, using the chassis of the first car, which had been damaged following an accident with the Managing Director of Volkswagen at the wheel, by June 1940. This third car will headline RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale, 15-17 August.

The third Type 64 was retained as a personal family car and driven extensively by Ferry and Ferdinand Porsche. When the company was forced to relocate headquarters to Gmünd, Austria from 1944-1948, it was kept alongside No. 2 at the family estate in the picturesque lakeside town of Zell-am-See. No. 3 was the only example to survive the war, and Ferry Porsche himself applied the raised letters spelling out ‘PORSCHE’ on the nose of the car when he had it registered in Austria under the new company name in 1946.

In 1947, restoration work was commissioned by Porsche and completed by a young Pinin Farina in Turin, Italy. Nearly one year later, Porsche demonstrated the Type 356 roadster, no. 1, on public roads in Innsbruck, with the Type 64 by its side. Austrian privateer driver Otto Mathé completed demo laps in Type 64 and fell in love, buying it from Porsche the following year. He enjoyed a successful racing career with the car in the 1950s—the very first to do so in a Porsche product—and kept it for 46 years until his death in 1995.

In 1997, the Type 64 changed hands for just the second time in six decades and appeared at a handful of vintage racing events with its third owner, Dr Thomas Gruber of Vienna, including Goodwood and the Austrian Ennstal Classic. Dr Gruber is the author of the renowned Carrera RS book and one of the most respected Porsche specialists worldwide. Delightfully patinated, the streamlined 1939 Porsche Type 64 is now offered in Monterey from the long-term care of just its fourth owner, who acquired the car more than a decade ago, and is accompanied by many original spare parts, as well as extensive period images and historical documentation. Perhaps the most significant surviving piece of Porsche engineering and design history, the Porsche Type 64 is estimated to bring in excess of $20,000,000 when it crosses RM Sotheby’s auction podium in Monterey.

“Without the Type 64, there would be no Porsche 356, no 550, no 911,” says Marcus Görig, Car Specialist, RM Sotheby’s. “This is Porsche’s origin story, the car that birthed the company’s legend, and it offers collectors what is likely an unrepeatable opportunity to sit in the seat of Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche. With this car, the new owner will not only be invited to the first row of every Porsche event worldwide—they will be the first row!”

Gord Duff, Global Head of Auctions, RM Sotheby’s, continues: “We’ve had the honour of presenting some of the most significant cars in the history of numerous top marques at Monterey, and Type 64 now stands among them. Type 64 helped define what a sports car is today, and it carries many of traits we’ve seen throughout seven decades of Porsche production and still see in some of the marque’s most sought-after contemporary models. We’re grateful to have been entrusted by the owner with this important piece of automotive, engineering, and world history and we look forward to sharing it with the collector car hobby this summer.”

Andy Prill, well-respected marque specialist who has recently inspected the Type 64, adds: “I’ve seen countless special Porsches in my career, but nothing like this. I was very careful in examining the authenticity of Type 64, no. 3 and its chassis. After spending many days with the car, I have found evidence that all key components of the cars are original as built in 1939/1940. This is the most historically significant of all Porsche cars and it is simply incredible to find the very first Porsche in this original condition.”

Held during the world-famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance motoring week, RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale (15-17 August) has been the pinnacle of collector car auctions for more than 30 years, leading the field and raising the bar with its consistent, record-setting results. Led by the Type 64, this year’s Monterey sale will once again present more than 120 of the world’s most important motor cars in the ultimate collector car destination, featuring a special third auction evening on 15 August. ‘An Evening of Aston Martin’ will feature more than 30 of the world’s most sought-after road-going and track-ready Aston Martin sports cars from across the marque’s illustrious history. 

For further information on RM Sotheby’s 2019 Monterey auction and to view a frequently updated list of entries, please visit rmsothebys.com. Interested consignors are invited to call RM Sotheby’s global headquarters at +1 519 352 4575 to speak with a car specialist about entering an important motor car in the Monterey sale. Consignments are invited through early July 2019.

FOR MORE NEWS FROM THE RM SOTHEBY’S GROUP: #RMSothebys #RMMonterey

THE WORLD’S OLDEST D.I.Y MOTOR CAR CAR BUILT USING ONLY WEEKLY MAGAZINE INSTRUCTIONS OFFERED AT BONHAMS LONDON TO BRIGHTON SALE

THE WORLD’S OLDEST D.I.Y MOTOR CAR

CAR BUILT USING ONLY WEEKLY MAGAZINE INSTRUCTIONS OFFERED AT BONHAMS LONDON TO BRIGHTON SALE

On 2 November, Bonhams will offer the oldest known example of the 1900 ‘English Mechanic’ 3HP Two Seater, a highly unusual motor car that was designed as a ‘build it yourself’ vehicle with assembly instructions that were published each week in the English Mechanic in January 1900.

The tuppenny magazine was one of the earliest popular motoring magazines, and in 1900 it began a series called A Small Motor-Car and How to Build It.’ The series was published over 31 weeks, and ranged from engine drawings to cylinder cast patterns, everything a young motoring enthusiast needed to build their very own vehicle.

The author built his own car along with the instructions, which subtly changed as he discovered practical flaws in his work. He remained anonymous until the beginning of August –by which stage you should have had a full chassis, running engine, and the makings of a body– when he revealed himself to be a 29-year old engineer called Thomas Hyler-White.

Several English Mechanic cars were built – this is oldest known survivor – but for many years, nobody was quite sure what this example was. It was discovered in 1921 in a field in Kent and had been lying there for so long that a tree had grown through the chassis. It was assumed to be a Benz thanks to its single-cylinder engine and was entered under that name in the London to Brighton Run in 1928. It sadly fell by the wayside but managed to finish in both 1929 and 1930.

The owner eventually decided that his veteran probably wasn’t a Benz, and that it was more likely an example from the French marque Hurtu. This identity stuck until well after the war until a real Hurtu of similar vintage was unearthed, and the owner had to think again. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the English Mechanic was correctly identified by its then owner who gave it a much-needed restoration.

In the 1960s it was acquired by the current owner’s father who used it for the Run every November. On the Run in 1972, the owner pulled up at a garage in Redhill where he chanced upon an 85-year-old mechanic who happened to have been a boyhood friend of none other than Thomas Hyler White, the man behind the car’s construction instructions. ‘We built our on bicycles before the turn of the century, and Hyler-White managed to create a steam engine for his.’ he recalled.

This is the oldest example of the first ever 'D.I.Y' motor car in British history, and is set to be a star of Bonhams auction on 2 November and the London to Brighton Run on the 4th - the world's longest running motoring event.