Barn find Porsche 964 Carrera RSR breaks auction record

A 1993 Porsche 964 Carrera RSR was undoubtedly the shining star of the recent RM Sotheby’s auction, despite actually being the least shiny thing there.

Covered in a layer of dust that has gathered over the last quarter-of-a-century, the Stuttgart ex-pat also still wears its factory-applied rust-inhibiting coat of Cosmoline.

In the end, the bidding reached a modest €2,016,000, which translates to $3,025,900 AUD. That’s not the most a Porsche has ever been sold for – a 956 raced by Jacky Ickx once sold for over US$10m, but it’s a record for a 964.

There are several factors which contributed to the massive sale price for this, the most immediately obvious being the odometer reading. This car has only travelled 10 kilometres in total.

Once you’re inside the car, it becomes very, very obvious that the interior is not what you’d normally find in… well, any car. The bright red is a one-off, and it’s one of only two with a fully-fitted interior.

It’s also one of only 51 Carrera RSRs ever built.

Originally said to have 260kW at its disposal, reviewers at the time declared it would have had to have been producing more than 280.

Car and Driver magazine produced a 0–100km/h result of 3.7 seconds, quicker than a Ferrari F40. And as fast as a current 911 Carrera S.

Though it fetched a pretty penny, the Carrera didn’t top the auction sales. A 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS sold for €3,360,000 ($5,043,000), and a 1935 Bugatti Type 57 prototype picked up €3,024,000 ($4,538,700).

We also had our eye on the first ever ‘hypercar holy trinity’ to gather at auction, though only the Porsche 918 Spyder sold. It made €1,456,000 ($2,185,900).

Honourable mentions go to the Lamborghini Countach LP400 which sold for €817,600 ($1,227,500), the Lancia Delta S4 Stradale which fetched €492,800 ($739,800), and a Ferrari F40 which sold for €1,064,000 ($1,597,400).

The 1985 Audi Sport quattro we were watching didn’t end up with a new owner.