Porsche Market Recap for April 2023
With 74% of the 506 Porsches on offer in April bringing in a whopping $29.9m, you might find it hard to believe that not a single car sold for over $500,000. But that was the case this month with our top 10 sales as follows: 2016 911 R $470,000, 1997 911 Turbo S $465,000, 2018 911 GT2 RS Weissach $434,000, 2019 911 Speedster 396,000, 1993 911 Turbo 3.6 $370,000, 2018 911 GT2 RS Weissach $346,500, 2011 911 GT3 RS 4.1-liter $338,000, 2019 911 Speedster $335,000, 1988 911 Turbo Cabriolet M505 $332,000, and a 2023 911 Turbo S Coupe $320,000.
So, what does that tell us about the market? For one, limited production cars with GT engines are still hot with two 991 GT2 RS’ and two 991 Speedsters making the top 10. And two, air-cooled turbos still command big money although the market has shown some signs of softening.
Let’s start with the air-cooled Turbo market which had an 80% sell-through rate from 20 cars totaling just over $3m. The overall 993 Turbo market has appeared to level out with an average of $201,000, about where it was last month. And although our second-highest car sold for the month was a 993 Turbo S at $465,000, that was the lowest price paid for one of only 345 cars-built year to date and an uber-rare 911 GT2 Evo failed to sell at $440,000, a far cry from where this car should have been.
THE as only one 3.3-liter car and one 3.6-liter car sold with one of each not selling. With a 50% sell-through rate, there isn’t anything to write home about. 930 Turbos fared much better however with an 89% sell-through rate of 9 cars with the high point being a 1988 911 Turbo Cabriolet with the M505 Slant Nose package at $332,000.
Absent from the $300k club this month were delivery mileage 992 GT3s with a 2023 PTS Olympic Blue Touring with a 6-speed only bringing $295,000. A PTS Touring 6-Speed used to be your ticket to $300+, but it looks like that ship has sailed and other sellers need to adjust their reserves as we saw a 33% sell-through rate. That doesn’t mean all GT3s didn’t do well though. Modified 997.2 GT3 RS’ had their month with two examples bringing above average RS money at $246,000 and $338,000 for a Shark Werks modified 4.1-liter example.
Normally aspirated 993s have started to level out as well with an average price of $80,500 paid for a coupe although we did have a couple of surprises. One was a Supercharged 3.8-liter Coupe that sold for $172,000 and a ‘96 Targa 6-Speed that crossed the $100k mark at $101,000. Remember when nobody wanted a “greenhouse” Targa? Not anymore. Another surprise was the $296,000 paid for a 1995 993 RS Clubsport which was the lowest price we’ve seen by far since way back in the beginning of 2019.
But it wasn’t all modern classics making moves in April either. 356s looked good with a 78% sell-through rate with the top sale being a 1957 356A Coupe with boatloads of patina for $150,000. On the classic 911 side of the market, we saw a 55% sell-through rate and a top sale of $259,503 (not including buyer’s premium) for a 1972 ‘Ölklappe’ Coupe in exceptionally rare right-hand drive configuration at Bonhams’ Goodwood Members’ Meeting sale.
So where were the million-dollar sales this month? Well, without any large auctions in April we didn’t have the opportunity to see any true “star cars” cross the block. And the absence of a Carrera GT or 959 meant that it would take a VERY special 911 or 356 to sell although we did have the opportunity with the 993 GT2 Evo mentioned prior. But that all changes over the next two months as we already have both a 959 and Carrera GT set to end in May and June brings us the 75th Anniversary Porsche sale in Atlanta hosted by Broad Arrow auctions. Will you be there? If so, look for the guy in the Stuttgart Market Letter sweatshirt and say “hello”.
- David K. Whitlock is a writer for The Stuttgart Market Letter, a daily market update for Porschephiles, by Porschephiles, delivered free to your inbox. To sign up, go to: www.stuttgartmarketletter.com
