Bidding for perhaps the most iconic Porsche in the history of the German automaker failed to meet the lofty reserve set by seller Jerry Seinfeld. In spite of the fact that no Porsche has ever sold for more than $14 million, and this very 917 sold for just $1.32 million back in 2000, Mr. Seinfeld turned down a bid of $25 million for the car, preferring to keep the car in his stable than accept the world-record bid. In fact, it seems that if he’d accepted the bid it would have been the 19th highest (adjusted for inflation) sum paid for a car at public auction in history. Nah, not enough.
How much would you pay for the privilege of sitting behind this gauge stack and staring out this windshield? The average house in the U.S. is valued at around $420,000. Would you rather have this car than sixty average American homes?
This flyweight twelve-cylinder endurance sports car racing icon is among the cars that set Porsche on its path of world sports car racing domination in the 1970s, and was immortalized in the Steve McQueen produced/directed/starred vehicle “Le Mans.” The Gulf Oil-liveried car was the star of the film, and helped push Porsche to the win at the real non-theatrical 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 and 1971. With a 4.9-liter flat twelve engine making around 600 horsepower and an extremely light and aerodynamic chassis, this car was about the fastest goddamn thing mankind could manufacture in the early 1970s.
At just 1763-ish pounds and a $25,000,000 bid, this car is apparently worth at least $14,000 per pound. Each pound of this car costs around the same as a certified pre-owned Honda Civic. It’s impossible to say exactly how much some billionaire is willing to pay another billionaire for the ownership rights of this piece of motorsport history. Will Seinfeld come to a handshake deal with Elon Musk to trade this car for a mansion on Mars? Who knows, man.
Maybe Seinfeld was simply interested in providing a new real-world value for his sports car collection so he could prove to his insurance agent that it was worth as much as he says it is. Or maybe it’ll hit Facebook Marketplace next week. $30,000,000, no lowballers, I know what I got, call Jerry, texts will be ignored, if you ask if it’s still available I’ll block u.
