- The 1939 Porsche Type 64 is set to fetch at least $20 million at the Monterey Car Auction in Monterey, California on Saturday.
- However, the carmaker says the Type 64 isn’t actually a real Porsche.
- When the founder of the company Ferdinand Porsche first made the car, it was intended to be sold as sportier version of the Volkswagen Beetle. Porsche the car company did not start up until 1948.
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The "world’s first Porsche" is up for auction this weekend and is estimated to fetch more than $20 million.
However, the carmaker says its not a Porsche at all.
RM Sotheby’s, the company handling the auction of the legendary "Porsche", states that it’s the "antecedent of Porsche’s historical evolution" and the "oldest car to ever wear Porsche’s iconic wide-font script badge," making a careful distinction to not actually call the car a Porsche.
"The Type 64 is neither the very first Porsche ever nor the very first Porsche that bears the letters Porsche on it," Porsche Museum spokesperson Astrid Böttinger wrote in an email statement.
The confusion lies in the history of founder Ferdinand Porsche and his involvement with Volkswagen. When Ferry Porsche, son of Ferdinand Porsche, sold his Type 64, it was labeled a "Volkswagen Sport" in the contract.
"The Type 64 represents where Porsche come from, Porsche’s DNA," wrote Böttinger.
In 1934, Porsche designed the KDf-Wagen, or the "people’s car", for Volkswagen. It is now what we know as the Volkswagen Beetle. The car was designed to fulfill Adolf Hitler’s idea, according to the BBC.
Wikipedia
Source: BBC.
The plans for the Type 64 originally began as a design for a better performing Beetle, which then had tires that were too narrow, according to RM Sotheby’s.
Jack Schroeder/RM Sotheby’s
The design was resurrected after Porsche received a request from the National Socialist Motor Corps to produce three Sport KdF-Wagen examples for a planned race from Berlin to Rome.
Jack Schroeder/RM Sotheby’s
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- See the super-rare 30 most-expensive cars up for auction at Monterey including vintage Ferraris, Porsches, and Aston Martins
- A pristine ‘Bond Car’ 1965 Aston Martin DB5 fitted with working gadgets could sell for up to $6 million at Monterey — take a closer look
- The Japanese Air Force One is up for sale for a cool $28 million — take a look inside
Source: Business Insider – bchang@businessinsider.com (Brittany Chang)