Sep 8, 2013 • For Sale • 32 Comments
1960 Porsche 356B S90 Roadster
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This Porsche Roadster has supposedly been stashed away since the 70’s. It may be a little rough around the edges, but this was the most powerful 356 you could get in 1960. Super 90 stood for 90 horsepower and even though that may not sound like a lot today, it was only about 10 ponies less than the mighty four-cam Carrera engine. This is a good find! Only problem is that it’s already bid up to $69k here on eBay. Maybe we missed something, but that seems high and the reserve has not even been met!
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Comments
Perfectly patinated. Love the primer on the engine hatch. Granny rug on the driver’s seat and I’m off for a drive.
It looks solid and complete. I wish I had collected a whole barn full of Porsche’s many years ago when they were cheaper.
I still don’t get it………and I have owned several 356’s. Guess I never will ………… get it.
I don’t get it either.
90 HP is good, but there were more powerful cars for less money, back then as well as now.
The body design is distinctive but an acquired taste.
The engineering is antiquated (torsion bars; 2-valves; air cooling; rear engine), all things that Porsche has since replaced with better solutions.
The driving dynamics are not as good as most other sports cars.
The purchase price + restoration, or even just mechanical R&R, will buy you a small collection of nice collector cars.
If there is an explanation for the valuations of these, it’s probably in the seller’s ultra-hard sell: Porsche has a great racing history, and the idea that a serial number can “scream exclusivity!”
While I have never owned any Porsche, and have on occasion looked at and marveled at them, This one is priced for someone that either has unlimited resouces and a DEEP desire for the particular model. Purchase price + re-hab costs= Keeper! Could not resell to make a profit. Good luck however to the winner bidder,,,,,,,,,,,
Don’t think you guys have been aware of the 356 market for the past year….this car is rare and will easily pass $85K even in this condition. They all have rust, and obviously this will be restored. Then you will have a desirable model in a desirable color, and easily a $145K car…maybe even more.
I’m aware that the market for 356s is on the rise, but this one is already higher than Hagerty values a #4 car. It will be interesting to see where it ends up.
I think many gearheads are aware of the high prices that early P-cars and other vintage cars bring. OTOH, if someone doesn’t already know this, who can blame them for being surprised that certain old cars now bring the price of a brand new high end luxury car, or even the price of a half dozen nice houses in Beverly Hills?
The only way prices like that make sense is because of things unrelated to the cars as transportation, things like prestige and a demonstration of status and wealth, investment potential, an alternate place to park money other than in a declining currency, cars as as objects of art, and so on. Those kinds of motives are a large part of what’s driving the top collector car market, and for most people on the planet those issues are just not on the radar screen.
yes i do think that you are right. thanks
I can’t explain why exactly but the values of a 356B 4 cam are through the roof. I have seen restored examples go at auction for over 200k!
The four-cam is a different story David. This is a Super 90 which is still a good thing, but the four-cam has more power and costs much more to maintain.
using information in the may BF listing on karmann ghia. you could buy at least 10 vw that were drivers for the current bid on this one car. you could buy another 10 at least of the vw for what it is going to cost restore this one 356. that is 20 VW karmann ghias or this car restored. not a hard choice for me!
That’s right! One of the hottest things going is to take a Karmann Ghia, install a type 4 VW engine modified to 2.4 to 3.0 and you really do have the “poor mans porsche”.
that would be a nice car. i did not know people were doing that. thanks
Capricorn is building new four-cam engines, so how about sticking one of those in a Karmann Ghia? Then you could could have a “rich man’s VW”…
http://www.capricorngroup.net/no_cache/en/automotive/news/news-single/article/legendaerer-carrera-motor-ab-sofort-wieder-erhaeltlich.html
it that price $159000 or did i do the conversion wrong?
@Jim S
And then you have 20 Ghias…
@David
Supply and demand…the 4 cams restored easily go for $200-250k. definitely less than 20 made, maybe 12 total can’t remember. Still a relative bargain compared to other period cars of the same caliber
Their are many things in life that excite me in the world of ” P “, for example the first time I went to the 24 hr of Daytona when it was an IMSA event & watching the many ” P ” variants as they roared down the highbank past us along the main straight or watching them handle the twisty parts of the track at Lime Rock Park, I am a freequent attendee at Sebring International raceway for the 12 hr race in March, but I have to say the concept of 90 HP at 69K borders on insanity …..pass me the Caymen please! My Corvair at 150 hp can run circles around this car & it cost me the price of a fender for one of these.
Unfortunately for my wallet, top end classics have become a genuine investment class. One that has outperformed almost all others including paper and property over the last five years. Just look at the art prices up to the 70s then the quantum leap they took in the 80s and keep going up. Why? They ain’t making any more of them. Why Porsche? Better racing history than Lamborghini. Better corporate continuity than Maserati. Better built than Lotus. Better known than Elva. As a marque, they provide the only credible alternative to a Ferrari. In this context, they still seem cheap.
Intrinsic value plays no part in this. Mythology is everything. Its not a bang for buck equation. When a newly rich person bought a Monet, I dare say they ‘liked the look of it’, but were more persuaded by ‘those in the know’. For some canvas and some oil-based pigment. Now there are squillions of new internet and emerging economy dollars looking for dinner party brags, and cars and watches have filled the void.
As much as it rubs against my sense of propriety, a Speedster replica will be my only chance to play Lew Harper.
4 words, James Dean, cool & Porsche are the only reason these are where they are, my 58 Alfa Romeo used to run these ragged & where quite jewel like.
Exactly! Great comment. But in addition to the investment potential, the money-parking aspect, or a combo of such motives, seems to be gaining.
I have acquired two nice P-cars, a show winning 24,000 mile 1984 944 and a really nice 1989 944S2 for over $50,000 less. These 356 cars have gone nuts in price as demand greatly exceeds supply and each sale pushes the prices ever higher. If I ever get the urge to be air cooled again it’ll have to be a kit car for me, with a hopped up Corvair engine for good measure.
That S2 is quite the car & another one of those overlooked by many.
Thanks Paul, I really like the get up and go of my S2 :)
If only I knew where Reggie Hammond parked his 356 with a trunk full of cash in 48 Hours….think that that one would be worth!
Again, very interesting feedback. I for one think that not only Porsche, but VW have not seen the ceiling yet in value for “air cooled” classics. It’s hard to believe the prices that some of these cars are bringing at auction. They are worth exactly what someone is willing to pay! That’s either good or bad depending on which end you’re on. I’ve owned cars in the past that are worth more than my house. Unfortunately I sold them a long time ago, as did probably many of us.
The price of a Super 90 roadster in #1 condition have basically doubled, to around $250K since 2006. In contrast, though, the price of a #4 car has only gone from around $45K to around $65K, making them somewhat of a bargain for awhile…even after restoration you are looking at a profit here. The car appears complete, has the matching engine, and somewhat known history. Buy it for $100K, restore it for another $00K, and sell it for $275K in a year or so.
You’re right, you don’t get itI There were only 2,800 (MOL) roadsters ever built. Much fewer Super 90’s. They are the last of the “Chrome” windshield cars which started with the Speedster where you could remove the windshield for racing. While I like Karmann Gias, the comparison is just stupid. 356’s are NOT VW’s. Yes a blood relative, but not the same. What you are looking at is a car that despite its condition will probably approach the six digit mark. 356’s are hot right now. But its more than just the flavor of the month. Some models (such as the Roadster) were built in relatively small numbers (how many of that 2,800 do you think still exist?). Basically made by hand. Can EASILY keep up with today’s traffic. When correct are dead reliable. And have a HUGE club network with frequent local and international events. And parts become more available daily. So if you don’t get it, you are either un-informed, or never will.
don’t you hate that?
24 bids with up to $111,000 bid and the auction is closed early.
“I am a 356 Registry member with an eBay Feedback Rating of 100%, so bid with confidence.”
Little does that do , no ?
111,000 I bet I could find a really sweet GT3 for those $’s.
In the latest edition of Hemmings a 2004 911 GT3 with only 11,900 miles for $68,500!!!
I saw this car in the storage with the others here in southern Ohio, 70’s 911,356 coupe, Jag XKE convertible, the parts car 911 and this nice 356. Quite the collection from a bachelor who took his inheritance in the 1980’s and bought all of these cars and just left them in storage.There was a lot of interest in the group but it went to the highest silent bidder in an auction held by the family members. Most were in as found condition needing a bit of work to get them on there feet but with the price of early Porsches this will still be a bargain .