Last Porsche 991-series 911 raises $US500,000

THE final example of Porsche’s 991-series 911 sportscar, a unique 911 Speedster, has sold for $US500,000 ($A786,847) as part of an initiative by Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) to raise funds for COVID-19 relief in the United States.

Auctioned online to US residents only by RM Sotheby’s over a week-long period from April 15-22, the stunning-looking silver-and-white Speedster adorned with ‘88’ racing decals attracted significant interest worldwide and 32 bids, with the final price not including a $US50,000 buyer’s premium for the auction house – a “significant portion” of which will also be donated to the United Way Worldwide coronavirus relief effort.

Not stopping there, PCNA has matched the winning bid, taking the German sportscar marque’s total contribution to a cool $US1 million ($A1.57m).

“When we began this project, I wanted to use our voice to help raise awareness and funding for the incredible work of United Way,” said PCNA president and CEO Klaus Zellmer.

“We are joining in that spirit by making our own donation on top of the winning bid for this special part of our history.

“We can now look forward to the funds raised making a direct difference to those who need it most right now.”

As well as scoring one of the most collectible 911s of the modern era, the unnamed winning bidder will receive a matching Porsche Design watch engraved with the car’s chassis number, an exclusive tour of Porsche’s engineering and design headquarters in Weissach, Germany, and one-off book documenting the construction of the final 991 911.

In total, just 1948 911 Speedsters were produced worldwide by Porsche as a homage to the original 356 ‘No.1’ Roadster built in 1948.

The list price of the Speedster in Australia was $604,800 plus on-road costs, making it one of the most expensive 911s ever offered here.

United Way Worldwide president and CEO Brian Gallagher thanked Porsche for its generosity and said the funds raised would “make a real difference” in the fight against COVID-19.

“United Way is focused on supporting those who need it most right now, and the money raised by this unique sale will go to local healthcare services, food banks and to providing care and triage for impacted communities,” he said.

RM Sotheby’s president Kenneth Ahn said the auction house was proud to have been part of the sale and that the collaborative spirit and urgency of the preparations and sale brought had out the best in each of the organisations involved.

“The bidding proved to be every bit as exciting and intense as we’d hoped, with seven bids logged in the final minutes of the auction alone,” he said.

“It’s always fantastic to witness the generosity of the collector car community and we’d like to extend our sincere gratitude to all bidders and our congratulations to the eventual winner.”

A special presentation will be made to the winning bidder when lockdown and social distancing restrictions ease, while the visit to the engineering and design headquarters will be at the owner’s discretion.

The 991 marks the ninth model to bear the Speedster moniker over the years – the previous one being the 997 series in 2010 – and is the first to be developed by the Porsche Motorsport division.

It is based on the same chassis as the flagship GT3 RS, and holds true to the Speedster genre with its low-cut front windscreen and side windows, manually operated lightweight fabric drop-top roof and pair of carbon-fibre ‘streamliners’ on the rear decklid.

Power comes courtesy of a 375kW/470Nm 4.0-litre flat six-cylinder petrol, with drive sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox only. The dash from 0-100km/h is dispatched in 4.0 seconds flat on the way to a top speed of 310km/h.