Watch the first car to wear the Porsche name take to the track
When Porsche aficionado and racing legend Jeff Zwart geeks out over a car, the rest of us should probably pay attention. The latest car Zwart is documented geeking out about is the Porsche Type 64—the premiere car headed to RM Sotheby’s auction block in just under a month.
The Type 64 stands as a significant piece of Porsche’s history. In a video just released by RM Sotheby’s, Zwart makes the argument that it casts a significant shadow even outside the Porsche community, even saying, “I can’t imagine walking around anything in the automotive world that could tell as many stories.”
That is a big task, but the Type 64 seems to live up to it. The origin story of the streamlined body traces back to a road race between Berlin and Rome. The car was hand-built by the Porsche family, but at the outset did not wear the Porsche name. Only after it began racing were the seven letters added to the front of the sleek aluminum body.
In addition to Zwart, RM also brought Patrick Long out to weigh in on the car’s significance. As co-founder of the all-Porsche, all-the-time event Luftgekühlt, and also a Porsche Factory team driver, Long has a deep appreciation for the history of the Porsche brand and how the Type 64 relates to even the modern 911.
“The weight distribution, agility, low weight, aerodynamics, efficiency, all of those things you can see from the very start, which is what this car is,” said Long. “I’m surprised how modern it actually is.”
The sale of this piece of Porsche motoring history will be significant. Just three owners have held the car since it left Porsche family ownership. Experts like Porsche Panorama editor Rob Sass expect this this sale will eclipse the current world record Porsche sale of $14 million. By how much? We will have to wait and see.
