Now that vehicle auction prices have started to calm down a bit, there are a few gems to be found on auction sites like Bring a Trailer. Take this special looking Porsche Cayenne currently listed on Cars & Bids.
At first glance you might think that it’s one of the rare Cayenne Transsyberias. If you’re unfamiliar, the Cayenne Transsyberia was a special edition version of the first generation Cayenne. Made to commemorate Porsche’s victory in the 4,000+ mile rally, 285 were originally built. Of course, this being Porsche, it had to make a street version for customers.
Porsche planned worldwide limited production, all based on the Cayenne S. Production versions of the Transsyberia looked exactly like their rallying counterparts, but the differences were underneath. They came with a shorter axle ratio and an air suspension with Porsche Active Suspension Management that gave it 10 inches of ground clearance at its highest level.
Visually, no matter the exterior or interior color you chose, some models received orange accents on places like the dash, wheels and lower body panels. Just 600 were made, 285 of which were for North America. Of those, just 102 came to the U.S., while Canada received 17; three of those were manuals.
This example isn’t that special. What you see here is a 2005 Porsche Cayenne Turbo Transsyberia Tribute. It started life as a Cayenne Turbo, which isn’t a bad thing with that 450 hp twin-turbo V8 under the hood. The owner then went and added some cool exterior “Transsyberia” graphics on the lower body panels, along with orange wheels (stock) as well as orange mirror caps. Inside, it’s a standard mid-2000s Cayenne with a Havanna/Sand Beige interior. The real goodies are the aftermarket add ons.
Cars & Bids notes that a partial list of mods was provided by the owner. This includes RoadOne Cavalry 275/55 mud-terrain tires, a front bumper mounted camera, a 13,000 pound winch with synthetic rope, a three-inch lift kit and a one-inch subframe drop kit, and a rear tire mount thats been welded to a bumper reinforcement plate as well as cut in the rear bumper to make room for the mount. There’s also a secondary battery in the rear cargo area. It’s also not without flaws, some of which may scare away some buyers.
The CarFax report shows a minor fender bender in 2016, another in 2019 and a third in ‘22 that resulted in minor damage to the front. There’s a bit of corrosion on some of the underbody, and then there’s the engine. That 450 hp starts to look a lot less attractive when there’s a “Service Now” warning light on the dash along with an odometer that reads just over 179,000 miles.
If that’s not going to frighten you off, it’s currently listed for a cheap. By the time this post goes up, the auction will probably be over. But as of this writing the current bid sits at $6,500 with no reserve.