Last week I analyzed the overall results from this year’s Monterey auctions and concluded that the overall state of the collector car market was stable. Porsche cars have been hot for a decade now and I’ve been curious whether classic Porsches, in particular the 356, may be starting to fall out of favor due to generational shifts. In this week’s Market Monday, I take a look at sales for the First Porsche at this year’s Monterey auctions and use it as a snapshot of the current market climate.

There’s probably no better place than the big tentpole auction events at Monterey Car Week to assess the state of the market as we head into the rest of 2025. Automotive excitement is heightened by the week’s celebration of the automobile, and the cars that hit the auction block tend to be among the best offered during the year.

This year, 24 Porsche 356 cars were on offer, ranging from rare factory race-spec Speedsters to standard coupes. Of the 24 cars up for sale, 10 were no-sales by the end of the auctions, meaning the high bid was not enough to reach the minimum price needed for a completed sale. The sell-through rate for Porsche 356 cars at Monterey was therefore a disappointing 58%. 6 of the cars sold were listed at no reserve and had no minimum threshold to sell.

Instead of comparing the bid or sale price against the house estimates, I chose to use market value (based on completed sales) instead. Since auction estimates are part valuation and part marketing, they are not reliable indicators of value. The chart below visualizes results for the 20 “standard” cars and includes no-sales as well as completed sales. The light burgundy color reflects market value for that 356 type. The 4 special Porsche 356s were excluded as fewer comps exist.

As you can see, 8 lots significantly overperformed their market values, while 9 cars sold for under market value. Just 3 Porsche 356 cars sold for their approximate market averages. These results are mixed to say the least, and paired with the low STR could be interpreted as a bit of a disaster. The prices start to make more sense when you look at each car on its merits, however.

1962 Porsche 356B Super Twin-Grille Roadster — Sold for $461,500 (including buyer’s premium) against a market average of $359,000. I featured this car in the auction preview, and it’s a rare example of a #1 car. I still lament the wood steering wheel, but it’s an exceptional car. Hagerty prices a #1 car at $395,000, so this was right on the money.

1957 Porsche 356A Speedster — No-sale at a $300,000 bid against a market average of $350,000. A nice matching-numbers beehive ‘57 Speedster with an included aftermarket hard top. It presents well in photographs, but has some visible wear and the engine could use a cosmetic refresh. An aged restoration that shows its age, but still a nice driver with tool kit and correct tire strap. The seller was right to keep it.

1958 Porsche 356A Speedster — No-sale at $275,000 against a market average of $340,000 and sold after the auction for an undisclosed price. Not many details in the catalog for some reason, but a decent black over red car. Said to be matching numbers, but the original engine is sold on a palette with an 1882cc engine installed. Average paint, coupe seats instead of buckets, probably aftermarket wheels, some wear and tear. This probably sold for somewhere around the Hagerty #3 price of $300,000.

1955 Porsche 356 Pre-A Coupe — Sold at no reserve for $106,400 (including buyer’s premium) against a market average of $190,000. A nice deal for someone who, like me, loves Pre-A cars. Originally Adria Blue and repainted in a nice dark blue while the interior retains its original Grey color. Some questionable finishing details present and an overall condition close to #3 Good. All-in not too far off from the Hagerty price for a ‘55 with a color swap and non-matching engine.

1957 Porsche 356A — Sold for $60,500 against a market average of $105,000. A beehive A that presents decently on the outside, with some obvious body issues. The interior has a tragically overstuffed dashboard and the engine is a Type 1 VW unit from a Karmann Ghia. A numbers-matching 1300 is said to be included, but with the base engine on a ‘57 being a 1500, I’m not sure how that squares. I call this well sold given its condition.

1958 Porsche 356A Coupe — Unsold at $75,000 against a market average of $135,000. An older restoration with non-matching numbers and a 912 engine in the back. The interior material is incorrect and somehow the car is said to have C discs installed but sports baby moon hubcaps. A head scratcher. It does have a pretty sweet 80-liter GT-style fuel tank, though! Even with all the weirdness, $75,000 feels too low for this car, but not by much.

1963 Porsche 356B Coupe — Sold for $79,200 including buyer’s premium against a market average of $80,000. A nice, matching-numbers driver-quality T6B in the pretty color of Oslo Blue. The refreshed seats lack the correct pleat, as usual. All in all, the right price for this little tub.

1964 Porsche 356C Coupe — Unsold at $170,000 against a market average of $70,000. A nicely restored matching-numbers car in the desirable combo of Slate Gray over red. Said to be restored by Thomas Drummond. The paint could use a correction, but the leather interior is beautiful with a deluxe wood wheel. The carpet color is incorrect, which is odd for a supposed concours restoration. For a standard C coupe in this condition, the high bid was close to right on.

1964 Porsche 356C Cabriolet — Sold for $313,500 against a market average of $152,000. Lovely colors of Slate Gray over Green and nice bodywork based on photos. The leather interior featured sewn seat pleats which is a bummer, but did have a nice wood deluxe wheel. The engine and undercarriage looked quite tidy. Said to be matching numbers, this was another Thomas Drummond resto. Remarkably well sold, this one, given Hagerty #1 estimate is $250,000.

1965 Porsche 356SC Cabriolet — Sold for $275,000 against a market average of $195,000. The car was matching numbers and painted in black with a green interior and black top. This car has body issues lurking. The front bumper is sagging, the doors have bondo bulge, and the hood fit is awful if it’s fully closed in the photos. The interior is nicely redone, with the unfortunately incorrect sewn seat pleats and a deluxe wood wheel. Well sold, in my opinion.

1957 Porsche 356A Sunroof Coupe  — No-sale at $265,000 against a market average of $105,000. It’s worth noting that this car is well above average. Finished in Aquamarine Blue over a red leather interior and done up as a mild outlaw, featuring GT-style exterior mods, Speedster buckets and a Willhoit-built 2.2-liter flat four in back. A very nice car, but all the money at the high bid. The house estimate was Emory Outlaw territory.

1955 Porsche 356 Pre-A Speedster — Sold for $418,000 against a market average of $363,000. Built in outlaw style with a 912 engine, Rudge wheels, non-standard metallic grey paint, and Speester-style buckets that would look more at home in a replica. A cool car, for sure, but not for the purist. There’s something very odd about the steering column position and the outrageous amount of positive camber in the rear wheels that makes me question the quality of the restoration. At least it includes the original numbers-matching engine.

1957 Porsche 356A Speedster — Sold for $423,000 against a market average of $350,000. Another class-winning numbers-matching restoration finished in the unusual color of Glacier White with a green interior. The car was originally white over red. A very nicely done car befitting its #2 Excellent Hagerty price.

1965 Porsche 356C Cabriolet — Sold at no reserve for $168,000 against a market average of $150,000. A final year Cabriolet painted in its original combo of Ruby Red over black leather. The car is numbers-matching and is a well-preserved older restoration with a new black top. With the buyer’s premium, this car is about right where it should be and is a nice, honest 356.

1962 Porsche 356B Twin-Grille Roadster — Unsold at $300,000 against a market average of $360,000. A nice #2 car finished in Slate Gray over green interior, which is a striking combination. While not a perfect car, it’s very nice and likely suffers a bit from being a Normal and not a Super, like the red car above. The high bid was a little low for what it is, but not egregiously so. Another $25K should have done it, but the low estimate from RM Sotheby’s was an optimistic $375,000. Given the car was bought through Canepa, the owner is probably in it for more than the high bid.

1959 Porsche 356A Coupe — Sold for $134,400 against a market average of $135,000. A Ruby Red over brown leatherette car said to be largely unrestored with a numbers-matching drivetrain. The car presents rather nicely on the exterior, but the interior seat material is poorly matched to the rest of the interior color and would need recovering to look right. Apparently the originals come with the car, though. A nice honest car that sold for market price.

1958 Porsche 356A Speedster — Unsold at a high bid of $340,000 against a market average of $340,000. I featured this car in my preview, as it’s remarkably similar to a car we have on offer for $400,000. Finished in its original color combo of Aquamarine Blue over black with tan carpets, it’s a numbers-matching car with Super hubcaps in excellent condition. The seller was right to hold onto it. We’re probably $40,000 away from the true price of this car.

1961 Porsche 356B Super Roadster — Sold at no reserve for $173,600 against a market average of $185,000. Painted in what is trying to be Slate Gray over a red leather interior, the color is a bit light though it is the original color. The original interior was light gray, which would be interesting to see. The Super Roadsters tend to do pretty well, but this car’s variable gaps and mystery bodywork probably held it back a bit.

1965 Porsche 356C Cabriolet — Sold at no reserve for $252,000 against a market average of $150,000. This car’s paint to sample color of Orange coupled with its pristine condition are what most likely drove the price here. A numbers-matching car with an impressive awards history and bodywork by the excellent Carolina Coach Crafters put this at the top of the market for these cars. Hagerty would rate this car at $250,000 in #1 condition.

1955 Porsche 356 Pre-A Speedster — Sold at no reserve for $240,800 against a market average of $363,000. This car’s average condition and modifications including non-original blue paint, non-matching engine and aftermarket exhaust were the main drivers of the lower price here.

1957 Porsche 356A Carrera GT/GT Lightweight — No-sale at $800,000 against an estimate of $900,000-$1.2M. Exceptionally rare cars like this 4-cam powered GT lightweight are difficult to value. Given the market lately for these Carreras, I felt the estimate was a bit high. Bidders agreed, and the car was a no-sale.

1964 Porsche 356C Emory Outlaw Cabriolet — Unsold at $470,000 against a house estimate of $500-575,000. This car was previously bid to $250,000 on Bring at Trailer in March of this year and sold in 2023 for an unknown amount. It’s been through the ringer a bit, suggesting older Emory builds don’t bring the money of his newest cars. With an average of around $500K for Emory builds, I think the seller should have let this one go.

1959 Porsche 356A Super GT Speedster — No-sale at $750,000 against an estimate of $1M-1.35M. I said this car was overpriced based on the estimate, and it looks like bidders were in my camp. A pushrod GT is very cool, but it’s not $1 million+ dollars cool. Hopefully this cool car can find a buyer in the high 6-figures.

1959 Porsche 356A Emory Outlaw Sunroof Coupe — Sold for $555,000 against a house estimate of $500-700,000. This well-preserved outlaw sported one of Rod Emory’s Rothsport-built engines, which is the powerplant you want in your Emory build. The car was built 10 years ago and Rod has upped his game, but it had the right specs to bring good money. Congrats to the new owner and the seller.

On Porsche 356 sales on Bring A Trailer, I’ve seen quite a few comments heralding the decline of the First Porsche market every time a car doesn’t meet expectations. I hope this post shows that you need to look at individual sales to truly understand what happened in a particular scenario.

My key takeaways from the Monterey auctions are as follows: 1) The Porsche 356 market is softer than it was during the pandemic, but stable. 2) The gap between the best cars and “Good” to “Fair” condition cars continues to widen. 3) I believe a glut of project cars and average cars hitting the market have made it appear as though values are headed down.

If you look at Classic.com data for each 356 model you will likely see some decline in average prices of the last 4 years. Again, I believe this is mostly due to low-quality cars dragging down the average. If you review Hagerty values, you’ll see that 356 values — especially for excellent cars — remain high.

As for my personal 356C coupe, I’m going to hold on to it for a little while. While leap-without-looking buying has waned, the cars are still desirable.

Have a great week, everyone, and Keep The Faith.

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisals, and auction services for buyers and sellers of collector European cars. If you’re interested in acquiring an overseas car, give us a call or drop a line!