Our Post-Florida Take on the Early Porsche Market
Sean Rooks | March 25, 2024

While our focus is on European cars here at Wolf and Mare, we consider our specialty to be early Porsches. The Porsche 356 and early 911 are the models that defined the brand in its early years and continue to be an influential part of Porsche’s heritage.
Instead of house-specific auction results that have been well covered elsewhere, we’ve decided to see what we can learn about the early Porsche market from sales at this year’s Florida auctions.

While 2024’s March auctions had record sales, the positive results have done little to dampen some of the “sky is falling” perception of the post-pandemic car market. Some sources in particular have called out soft results for early Porsches at Amelia, but our gut told us a different story.
We have data for every early Porsche sold in Florida in March and because we were onsite, we were able to personally inspect each car on offer with an appraiser’s eye. The only car that eluded an in-person view was a 1954 Pre-A Speedster because it was 400 miles away at RM Sotheby’s in Miami.
Condition Matters

Prior to the auctions, one could assume the rather high estimates from each house could have reflected the quality of the cars on offer. While all the cars were nice, some of the estimates were well above market relative to the car’s condition. The 5 cars below represent a cross-section of lots that we think explain some of the “softness” seen for early Porsches in Florida.

A video from the Porsche Club of America specifically called this car out as an example of a softening Porsche 356 market, but we disagree. While “Continental” badged Pre-A Porsche 356s command a premium, none of our historical data shows a car selling for $300,000 in the last 5 years as quoted in the video. If such sales exist, they would be outliers.
In regard to the car at Gooding, its Turkish Red paint is a pretty but not particularly special period color, not like Fish Silver, Azure Blue, or Adria Blue Metallic. The car presented well but was an aged restoration with some bodywork questions in the doors. I rated this car between a 2 and 3 in overall condition.
With a market estimate of $146,500 for a 1955 Pre-A in this condition, plus a little more for the coveted 1-year only “Continental” badge, we feel the sale price of $195,000 was on the money. The low end of Gooding’s estimate was the top of the market for these cars, in our opinion.

This Porsche 356B coupe at Bonhams was a pretty car, but exhibited incorrect paint finishes in multiple locations, incorrect badging on the rear, visible flaws on close inspection and modifications to the factory-correct upholstery specifications (including an overstuffed dash and poorly installed or aged seat covers). We got the vibe of a car that wasn’t restored by someone who knows 356s.
We rated this car a Condition 3, which makes the house estimate of $130,000-160,000 truly baffling. That’s concours condition pricing for one of these cars. Even considering the Super engine and sunroof, this car is nowhere near the value assigned by Bonhams. We’d have estimated a market value of around $86,000, meaning the high bid of $100,000 was all the money.

It was pretty fascinating to personally inspect two yellow longhood 901 body Porsches side-by-side at the same auction. In addition to being able to pick out the differences between a single year of production, one could also see a big condition variation between the two cars.
This 1966 Porsche 911 was a nice example in a fun color, but was the lesser of the two. With a suspension riding a little high, a questionable door gap on the driver’s side and a proud lower passenger door edge plus rust on the wheels and other flaws we put this car at a Condition 3. Bonhams estimated its value at $110-130,000 and the car sold at $98,560 including buyer’s premium. With a market value of $105,000, we think this was pretty close to on the nose.

Another car called out as a “soft” result in the PCA recap, this 1972 911S Targa at Broad Arrow was a very pretty car at first look with matching numbers and recent maintenance. Our challenge with the car was some poor fitting of the body panels after restoration. This is common on early 911s, with misfitting panel gaps on the hood and decklid, poor alignment of the horn grills and turn signal lenses up front, and deck lid misalignment in the rear.
Broad Arrow’s estimate of $160-190,000 was a touch optimistic but not too far off our estimate of $167,000 for a Condition 3 car, which was our grade due to the body panel fit. The car sold at $159,600 including buyer’s premium.

Perhaps the prettiest early 911 at all of Amelia Island, this 1973 Porsche 911T presented beautifully in Gemini Blue paint. With matching numbers, low mileage considered to be original, a slick top and air conditioning, this 911 was destined to be bid high. We were let down only by an unrestored engine bay and so rated the car at Condition 2.5.

Broad Arrow estimated the car to sell for between $125-150,000, a little higher than the market estimate for a 1973 911T in this condition. It would seem they accurately predicted the value of low mileage on such a pretty 911. The car sold for $145,600 including buyer’s premium, an incredible result.
Please note that we are not intending to disparage any of the cars above. Each would be a wonderful addition to a collector’s garage, but an appraiser must look at a vehicle dispassionately and critically to assess its market value. It’s also important to remember that a live auction, or collecting in general, isn’t a purely rational exploit and anything can happen in the bidding tent.
Final Thoughts
Based on all the industry data and insight we’ve studied over the last couple of weeks, plus our own observation of the cars and bidding in Florida, we feel confident in our POV after returning to Virginia. In our opinion, the early P-car market is not softening any more than the rest of the market after unprecedented forces drove it to unnatural highs.
If you bought an early Porsche or pretty much any car in 2020-2023, our recommendation is to hold on to the car and enjoy your purchase for a while. If you’re thinking of buying, early Porsches represent a stable investment in drivable art.

Sellers today may have missed the crazy prices of the Covid run-up, but the sky hasn’t fallen. If you plan to sell, it’s important that you understand the fair market value of your car before listing it for sale. To do so, invest in a professional appraisal beforehand.
Wolf and Mare provides appraisal services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. If you’re interested in acquiring a professional appraisal, give us a call or drop a line!