Wow! Is This Car Worth This Much??

[billybek]

Was checking out Ebay again this morning and stumbled across this.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1968-Sports-Purposes-911L-Trans-Am-Car_W0QQitemZ270198105931QQihZ017QQcategoryZ10156Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Just curious if anyone knows this car and its history?
Check out the Buy It Now price.

[scottbombedout]

Ok, if you are wondering if that is worth it, how about this bargain..

http://www.gmundcars.com/cars/612/911r.html

[billybek]

They might knock off a couple of hundred if you pay cash!!!

[Scott Clarke]

Check for a thread concerning this car on the S Registry, and also another on this board.

[mjshira]

Don has one of the better early car collections around. His stuff is top notch.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by scottbombedout

Ok, if you are wondering if that is worth it, how about this bargain..

http://www.gmundcars.com/cars/612/911r.html

Big chunk of that price is the car's history. Vic Elford... et.al.

[Macroni]

Gmund "R": I believe there are only 4 factory cars.

[Jim Garfield]

I believe that the R prototype ran the Marathon de la Route in '67 at the Nurburgring due to political upheaval in Yugoslavia. I'm pretty sure that the Elford car used a Sportomatic transmission for the race, so why is this car being sold with a 5 speed? That has to knock the price down to, oh, 550,000.GBP?

And I think that a big chunk of what Don is asking is because of the provenance of the car. It is a pretty rare car.

edit: here is a history of the car from his website.


"1968 Sports Purposes 911L Trans Am Car
Once in a lifetime chance to own a new 1968 Porsche 911 factory lightweight racing/rallye car.

This very special 911 was in single ownership from new to 2005. It has lived it's life in the same factory specification since new. This car was not progressed into a more modern racing 911 like so many others were. It has always been blood/tangerine orange and never painted another color. This car retains it's original engine and gearbox. It has extensive documentation, books and tools.

Background

A very small batch of these "Sport Purposes" 911s were imported in 1968 for SCCA Trans Am and B Sedan Racing. These cars were sold as race cars and not intended for the street although they were streetable. In Europe these same ralley kit cars were used for all types of rallies and for road racing. This car was built by Porsche with the following:

Rally Kit
Sport KIt 2
Limited Slip Differential
Airport Gear Set
Roll Bar
"Porsche" Side Decals
Lowered Special Koni Suspension
"R" Scheel Seats
Leather Wheel

SCCA Champion John Kelly Ordered this car through Heishman's Porsche in Virginia for his racing effort. Shortly after taking delivery of his new Porsche John was hired to drive Triumphs for Group 44. Because of this John only raced the 911 one time where he won the class.

The tech sticker is still on the rollbar! John used the car sparingly over the years. In the Mid 1990s the car was prepared for Vintage Racing. John's wife Susan Miller raced the car until my purchase in early 2005. The car was in excellent condition. The original engine, the original "R" seats and the original roll bar were removed and saved "on the side" in order to preserve them. The specialness of this car warrented the full and extensive restoration that was recently completed. Some highlights are : original engine (with it's 2.5 litre Rally conversion done by the original owner) completley remanufactured with Ported and Flowed Heads, Carillo rods. Special Factory Rally Cams, Proper Porsche Rain Hats and Factory Sport Kit Megaphone Exhaust, All Glass, Light and Trim are Porsche N.O.S Parts, all Anodized Window Frames and Rear Grill are Properly Restored , Deep Six and Seven "R" wheels done by Harvey Weidman, "R" seats by Tony at Autobahn, instuments by North Hollywood. Complete Suspension Rebuilt and Powdercoated (the bottom of this car is a nice as the top), 100 Litre Tank and Much Much More.

These cars were built after the 911R and before the 911ST and are actually much more rare. There are THREE Known to exist in the U.S. This car is the ONLY Survivor that still retains it's original components and is the BEST Example. It was a recent entrant in Rennsport III where it was a big hit. The car has 45 miles (most on the track at Daytona) and is on Absolutley Jewelry like New Condition. It has also recently been photographed for a new Porsche book. Price upon Request."

[scottbombedout]

Originally Posted by Jim Garfield

I believe that the R prototype ran the Marathon de la Route in '67 at the Nurburgring due to political upheaval in Yugoslavia. I'm pretty sure that the Elford car used a Sportomatic transmission for the race, so why is this car being sold with a 5 speed? That has to knock the price down to, oh, 550,000.GBP?

Jim, very true. The car that ran in th Marathon de la route did have a Sportomatic transmission.
The transmission was chosen because Helmuth Bott could see the marketing potential of a win by a car fitted with this new gearbox.
The drivers were chosen because of their knowledge of the transmission too.
After the race the car was converted back to manual.

When the car was restored it was restored as a manual. Is the car really worth $1.3 million? At the end of the day its only worth what someone is prepared to pay and so far there has been no takers. Although the seller reckons he has turned down 2 offers of $1 million

Scott