by "Wilsonic" (wilsonic)
Published 05/30/2017 at 17:28
by "Wilsonic" (wilsonic)
Published 05/30/2017 at 17:28
No Tags
STARS: 6
Hello gang, its been a while. I come to you because you might be the only people remarkable enough to prevent me from having an aneurysm. The car pictured above sold for $2,000,000. Why.
To be clear, I love factory race specials and I especially love these Porsche 911 RSRs. I like flared fenders, I like deep dish wheels and I like cars that deliver a pure driving experience. But in no universe or dimension is this car worth double Dr. Evil’s ransom in my eyes. The only way I would pay $2,000,000 for this car is if it was haunted by the ghost of Ferdinand Porsche, who would guide me through Scooby Doo like misadventures (if it was its own cartoon, I would call it Ferdinand’s Follies and the RSR Gang).
What makes this sale even more mind boggling is at the same auction there was a 918 Spyder that went for a paltry $1,500,000. That means someone paid more for a dusty Beetle with a stretch kit than the successor to the Space Shuttle. I know what you purists are thinking, “the 918 is everything wrong with today’s overly techie culture; it is impure; computers and Facebook blah blah blah.” Normally I would agree with the purists, but the 918 is amazing. It is worth $2,000,000 in my eyes because it is technological wizardry done right. I have not read an article where it said a 918 was over-computerized and failed to deliver a pure driving experience. Most people come away from the 918 debating how much their kidneys are worth, because they have to have one. And before you say “I’d rather have the Carrera GT”, just stop. Unless you are the secret love child of Ayrton Senna and Michele Mouton, your mortal ass doesn’t belong in a Carrera GT.
Technology doesn’t always justify value though. Many bare bones vintage race cars are worth a justifiably high price. But these valuable older race cars tend to have history. Take for instance the GT40. People pay a lot for a vintage GT40 because there is a chance that Dan Gurney threw up in it after sharing a bottle of Jack with Carroll Shelby the night before. People will pay millions to sit in Dan Gurney’s vomit. But this Porsche 911 RSR pictured above has no history what so ever. No one famous or talented drove it, but someone very rich put an ugly red interior in it and let it sit to become a dust farm.
So maybe the RSR’s value comes down to rarity. There were very few produced, and this is an opportunity to purchase a nearly zero mile example of an already rare specimen. But could you put this RSR in the same category of cars worth millions from the same era? For instance, a Ferrari F40 is difficult to duplicate. There is no taking a 308, putting on a body kit, performing an engine swap and calling it a day. To duplicate an F40, you would have to nearly start from scratch. But if I wanted to duplicate a 1993 911 RSR, it would not be that hard and it wouldn’t even cost $1,000,000, let alone $2,000,000. Yes the RSR itself is rare, but the driving experience that an RSR delivers is not. And I know that original Shelby Cobras are worth a lot despite the plethora of inexpensive Cobra kits, but those original Cobras were built in a by-gone era and I don’t think of the 90's as a by-gone era yet.
Ultimately, anything is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. But who would pay $2,000,000 for a 1993 Porsche 911? The amount paid for it is Seinfeld money, but I think the lack of history would not be in Seinfeld’s taste. Adam ‘I drive Datsuns in spite of Toyota’ Carolla is light in the wallet from chasing Paul Newman’s ghost. And I think this is more than everyone’s favorite Rob Zombie impersonator Magnus Walker would pay for a car.
I just don’t get it Oppo. Yes its an awesome car and I would love to have it. Any 911 RSR would be an amazing car to own. But for $2,000,000, I could think of many other cars I would like to have.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
05/30/2017 at 17:35, STARS: 3
Someone knew of the precious stolen gems hidden inside it, and decided to pay whatever it took at auction to get their hands on it. Next, the car will be whisked away to his secret lair to be dismantled and never heard from again.
I’m pretty sure there’s a screen play in there somewhere.
"ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)" (adabofoppo)
05/30/2017 at 17:36, STARS: 3
Someone felt that it was worth that much.
It’s as simple as that.
"fintail" (fintail)
05/30/2017 at 17:39, STARS: 0
Two drunk competitive rich people who wanted to use their tax savings on a new toy? :)
"PotbellyJoe and 42 others" (potbellyjoe)
05/30/2017 at 17:41, STARS: 8
Because another man thought it was worth 1.99M and the bid went up.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
05/30/2017 at 17:41, STARS: 3
Because collector car values are in the middle of a huge bubble right now and the bubble will continue to inflate until it collapses.
"Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
05/30/2017 at 17:46, STARS: 0
Porsche collectors occupy a special intersection in the Venn diagram between “being very rich” and “being insane”
"E92M3" (E46M3)
05/30/2017 at 17:53, STARS: 0
Realize $2,000,000 is pocket change to some people.
Like this guy.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
"Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ" (doge-supreme)
05/30/2017 at 18:17, STARS: 0
Because like all works of art it’s only worth what someone will pay for it. Someone thought that 2 mil was a fair price. I sure hope they have that interior re-done though.
"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
05/30/2017 at 18:20, STARS: 1
Because bro culture and one-upping-each-other culture exists at all price points. Someone had the money and declared, “I WILL have that car.”
And he out-bid everyone else who said the exact same thing.
"merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc" (merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc)
05/30/2017 at 18:32, STARS: 0
Good point, it means there were two people that thought it was worth nearly 2 million, and one of them thought it was worth 2 million. Takes two to have an auction right?
"My bird IS the word" (mybirdistheword)
05/30/2017 at 18:43, STARS: 0
Speculation is in itself inherently broken. Cars are kinda like stocks, any idiot with a buck can buy one. The reason classic cars have some mystique is that they “dont make em like they used to” or are inherently better in some way. I will admit, they are fun. But the fun can be easily replicated. people purchase for some percieved historical value and for nostalgia.
Take myself for instance. I could have gotten a mid 80s trans am, been just as happy, if not happer since it would have actually been running in decent shape.
Instead I bought some piece of shit rust bucket because I wanted the “real thing”. I also loved the style.
In short, car guys are pretty dumb.
"Saracen" (manualdoucheelitist)
05/30/2017 at 19:57, STARS: 0
If I was a filthy rich Porsche fanatic, $2m is chump change for an undriven example of the best 911 ever built.
Alas, one out of two isn’t good enough.
"QCGoose" (chrismcfate)
05/30/2017 at 21:34, STARS: 1
I would absolutely rather have a CGT than a 918. That is all.
"Wilsonic" (wilsonic)
05/30/2017 at 21:52, STARS: 1
Walter Rohl, a rally driver’s rally driver, was scared of it. The CGT is bueatiful and it sounds amazing, but if I got one I would complete the development that Porsche didn’t with wide, sticky tires and a high downforce kit. I feel like they should have spent another year on the car’s development, or until the rally driver who has faced death many times on rally stages no longer tells you it’s scary.
"QCGoose" (chrismcfate)
05/30/2017 at 21:58, STARS: 0
Oh yeah, I remember Rohl’s impressions of the car well. I know it’s a handful, but it’s also my favorite Porsche.
Hmm, the Viper is also known to be a handful, and it’s also one of my favorite cars ever. Maybe I just have a thing for brutal cars lol.