Genesis of Porsche Up For Auction
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What many describe as the very first Porsche, is coming up for auction at RM Sotheby’s big annual sale at Monterey in August. Called the Type 64, it bridged the gap between Dr Ferdinand Porsche’s Volkswagen, and the iconic Porsche 356.
To understand the significance of the Type 64, we have to go back to 1939. Dr Porsche, and his son Ferry, were commissioned by Volkswagen, who were at that time Nazi owned, to create three race variants of an upcoming mainstream production model to contest a road race from Berlin to Rome to showcase the latest stretch of Germany’s Autobahns.
With an air-cooled flat four-cylinder engine producing 35 horsepower, three cars were planned to be built. However, after the first racing prototype was completed, ready for the race, WW2 began. With the onset of the war, the other two cars were completed under the guidance of Ferry Porsche in December 1939 and 1940.
The example coming up for auction is the last car built, and the only one to survive the ravages of the Second World War. Its streamlined body was used as a daily driver by none other than Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche. This Type 64 was the first car to display the “Porsche” name, placed their by Dr Porsche himself.
The car was restored in 1947 and then passed on to Otto Mathe, who kept it in Austria until his death in 1995. The Type 64 is in stunning original un mucked about with condition and with only foru owners since new, it’s the holy grail of Porsche. No doubt, this Type 64 is going to command a huge amount of dough. Some extremely wealthy Porsche collector is going to have a new centrepiece in their collection real soon.
