Porsche Spyders are excellent dual-purpose collectibles, equally at home on the track or on road tours such as the Colorado Grand
One of the last 4-cam Spyders built, this tidy RS 61, chassis 718070, possesses a proud racing pedigree, an impressive list of owners, and a degree of authenticity found in few others.
Constructed in the winter of 1960, 718070 first appeared in the hands of one Bob Holbert of Pennsylvania. Holbert's Garage, one of the first American authorized Porsche dealerships, sponsored his racing efforts, which included four SCCA National Championships and a podium at Le Mans. With the financial support of Bernie Weil, Holbert helped establish the Porsche mystique.
The car's first recorded race was the February Daytona SCCA National, where it took 1st overall. Next was the Governor's Cup that April with 1st in class, and in the President's Cup Three-Hour another 1st in class and 4th overall.
By May 1961, Holbert was driving 718044, the factory-prepared Stirling Moss/Targa Florio RS 61, causing him to sell 718070 to East Coaster "Gentleman Tom" Payne. Payne, a legend for his inclusion in the Shelby-American team and for racing in a suit and tie, continued to produce results. Holbert generally provided race support.
Payne's first outing was at Bridgehampton; the result was 2nd in class. At the Cumberland Nationals, it is thought that Holbert returned to this RS 61 for the last time, taking 1st in class and 4th overall. Payne took yet another 1st in class at the June sprints, repeating at Lime Rock, and at the Wisconsin GP, before returning to Bridgehampton in August. There, he finished 2nd in class, to repeat at Indianapolis. Payne's last two races in this car were the Thompson Nationals and the 500 Sprints in Atlanta, where he achieved 2nd and 1st (each) in class, respectively.
At season end, 718070 was sold to Millard Ripley, a gentleman driver who owned a VW-Porsche dealership in Ithaca, New York. It appears his first race in this RS 61 was at Lake Erie, in Dunlop Race #2: 3rd place. In June, against stiff competition, Ripley won the Watkins Glen main event outright. He returned in September for 1st in class and 3rd overall.
Later that month, Ripley and Charles Kurtz drove in the Bridgehampton endurance, finishing 4th overall and 1st in class. The season's last race resulted in a 2nd overall in Lime Rock's main event and 1st in class.
Two more victories for the RS 61 came in 1963. At Giant's Despair, one of the oldest U.S. racing venues, Kurtz came 1st in class, defeating the feared Bob Bucher in a similar RS. At the Formula Libre races at Lime Rock, Ripley made 2nd overall in "Sports Racing under 5,000-cc." as well as a 1st overall in ".under 1,600-cc."
070 made occasional races thereafter, but was no longer an outright win contender. In the mid-1960s, it was retired and subsequently sold to a Mr. Steadman in 1969. It remained in sympathetic hands for nearly a decade.
In 1978, it was sold to a Mr. Aase, from whom a Mr. Hayes acquired it in 1988 and returned it to the track for at least a half dozen vintage races. Sold again in 1993, it settled in the collection of Terry Jones, a well-known SoCal vintage racer. The car was thoroughly prepared for competition by Porsche guru Al Cadrobbi and competed in several vintage races before being sold to Warren Eads of Rancho Palos Verdes in 1995.
Eads's Spyder Sports is regarded as one of the foremost "expert shops" of early racing Porsches. In the late 1990s, while still in his ownership, the car was cosmetically refreshed, with focus on the interior. Many interior components were cadmium-plated, the frame tubing was painted black, the cockpit was painted in the appropriate dull urethane silver; period-correct decals were sourced, and the seats and trim were re-upholstered in the correct material.
SCM Analysis
Detailing
| Vehicle: | 1961 Porsche RS 61 |
| Number Produced: | 14 (35 total RS 60/61) |
| Original List Price: | $9,000 |
| Tune Up Cost: | $2,000 (20 hours @ $100) |
| Distributor Caps: | $250 each (two required) |
| Chassis Number Location: | Number plate riveted to firewall behind passenger seat |
| Engine Number Location: | On crankcase half |
| Club Info: | Porsche Club of America PO Box 1347 Springfield, VA 22151-0347 |
| Website: | http://www.pca.org |
| Investment Grade: | A |
This car sold for $1,705,000, including buyer’s premium, at Gooding & Company’s inaugural Amelia Island Auction in Florida on March 12, 2010.
I don’t know if this is a world record for an essentially run-of-the-mill RS 61 Spyder or not, but the price is considerable. This is also one of those sales where the most notable fact about the transaction is the price. Let’s look at the car first, before adding in a view of the market, and finally, the issues in the auction room itself that may have supported this impressive result.
The marque
In the 1950s and ’60s, Porsche defrayed much of its racing costs by selling essentially the same car as it was campaigning to others. While certain details may have been adjusted in favor of the Works cars, the customer machines, especially the RS 60/61s, were as capable of winning major races as the factory team cars given the right drivers. Works RS 60s were manufactured in serial from 718040 to 049; the customer cars ranged from 718051 to 078. While some Works cars were fitted with 8-cylinder Type 771 engines, the main difference lay in the factory team cars having split front torsion bars and a different fuse block location.
Even the factory’s “trick” annular disc brakes could be bought over the retail parts counter to upgrade the customer’s efforts. The close correspondence between Works and customer cars helps to flatten the normal premium ascribed to factory racing cars in other marques as, with Porsche, the difference lies in the car’s history and provenance more than actual morphological differences. Special factory “tweaks,” say Le Mans body modifications, were routinely removed after the event and, consequently, are ephemeral to such cars’ history. But for the uniquely styled, long-wheel-based W-RS, the factory RS 60s are indistinguishable from customer cars, except to the truly eagle-eyed.
Finally, similar to many racing sports cars of the period, Porsche Spyders are excellent dual-purpose collectibles. They can easily win on the track and yet are just as satisfying to drive on the road in tours such as the Colorado Grand, where I saw our subject car many years ago. This property makes them all the more desirable to the market.
The car
The provenance of this “no stories” car is complete and known from day one. Despite being sold to the U.K., the subject car’s first-class SCCA racing pedigree probably resonated with the U.S. auction audience. Our subject car’s first owner, Bob Holbert, ranked as one of the finest Porsche drivers in the country. Its subsequent ownership by Tom Payne and capable clubman Millard Ripley meant our RS 61 never failed to race at the sharp end of the pack, albeit not at international world championship venues. Fortunately, not only was our subject car driven quickly, it was driven safely as well, suffering no significant racing damage during its active life.
Equally fortunate in its retirement, it went through a series of sympathetic hands. Ultimately, it was held for considerable time by Warren Eads, a noted Spyder authority, whose own ownership attested to the quality of 070. Consequently, potential auction buyers had the assurance that the car had in the past been vetted by experts and worked on by noted marque specialists like engine man Al Cadrobbi. Assured that the notoriously expensive-to-overhaul roller crank engine was in top shape with few hours of use, buyers could bid with confidence.
The market
Despite the weakness of the economic recovery, serious collectors like the prices they are seeing. Many experienced collectors are buying high-quality, first-class cars when such cars turn up. Whether these collectors believe such purchases are useful inflation hedges, or whether they think prices of cars are only going to go up, and are therefore buying now while prices are attractive, is hard to determine.
Here’s the hitch. By and large, the cars coming to market are the seconds and thirds, not the great and wonderful top-of-the-market objects that command huge prices. Today, there is a lot of unmet demand for top-flight pieces and not much supply. In the case of our subject car, we do have one of the rare, first-class collectible automobiles coming from respected long-term hands. The seller has been widely known to be liquidating his collection to fund charitable activities. Such a dynamic makes for buyer confidence.
The auction
On the day 070 was sold, the room was hot. As one participant said, “This was the first auction of the season when the sun was shining and many of those in attendance wanted to kick the season off by buying a car.” Additionally, while the amassed cars were respectable in scope and identity, there were relatively few-perhaps only six or so-cars of impeccable, first-class quality. Our RS 61 was one of these. Compounding the effect, the successful buyer had recently sold another car for presumably a substantial profit and was looking to reinvest the proceeds to limit his U.K. tax exposure on the gain. With tax-impacted dollars, he was able to pay up accordingly. Combined with an underbidder who instructed his agent, “Don’t lose the car,” the stage was set for an excellent result for the seller.
There you have it: a top-of-the-heap model of first-class quality and condition; excellent provenance; a confidence-inducing sales scenario; two determined bidders, one of whom was playing with discounted dollars; and the result follows naturally.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there were six more RS 60/61s on the market within a week after this sale. Well sold.