PORSCHE MARKET RECAP FOR FEBRUARY 2024
February’s Porsche market appeared in line with last month as our sell-through rate stayed at 68% for the second month in a row, but with both unit volume and dollar volume topping last February thanks in part to day one of the Amelia auctions falling on the 29th of the month. Take out the Amelia sales, though, and our dollar volume fell significantly from the previous year to a total of $27,750,297 compared to $33,572,283 in 2023 with unit volume staying relatively the same. That large gap was influenced by the lack of $500k+ cars offered last month.
Our only million-dollar sale was a 2005 Carrera GT finished in GT Silver Metallic over an Ascot Brown leather interior with 7,000 miles on the odometer. Recent comps have sold in the $1.3-1.4m range, so why did this one appear to be below market? The fact that this car was missing its luggage set and showed no sign of a recent major service are most likely what kept bidders at bay. The only other car that had the potential to cross the $1m mark was a 1994 911 Turbo S 3.6 ‘Package’ car that failed to sell at a final bid of $990,000. With only seventeen units produced, ‘Package’ cars sport the normal 911 front end as opposed to the Slant Nose that the rest of the world Turbo S’ received. Questions about paintwork and lack of service history kept bids below $1m, where they should have been.
The GT market had a strong month with forty-two cars on offer selling at a 69% sell-through rate and bringing in an impressive $5.8m. 992 GT3s have settled at an average of $260,000 while we saw one 992 GT3 RS bring $400,000, which is the lowest price paid at auction so far here in the US. Every 718 Cayman GT4 found a new home with an average price of $117,000, right in line with the six-month average.
When it comes to Turbos, the 993 Turbo market has kept on climbing with an average price last month of $258,000 thanks to a Polar Silver example with only 2,300 miles hammering at a very impressive $471,050. 964 Turbos didn’t see much action last month with only one out of the two examples on offer finding a home. But the biggest surprise in the Turbo market was the 14% sell-through rate for 992 Turbos. It looks like it’s time for sellers to start adjusting their expectations and let these cars go for what they are actually worth.
Mixed results were had at the 356 end of the market as we saw a very impressive result for a 1958 Emory Special Roadster that sold for an eye-watering $802,000. Starting life as a Coupe, this 356 was converted into a Speedster-look by an earlier owner before Rod Emory, of Emory Motorsports, got ahold of it and added a 550 Spyder-inspired nose and a 2.6-liter flat-four designed by Jeff Gamroth of Rothsport Racing. There are plenty of custom 356s that hit the auction block with average prices just shy of $250,000. But an Emory build is not your average build, with the top two custom 356 sales of the last five years being Emory Outlaws. Aside from the Emory car, most other 356s seemed to be soft with a sell-through rate below 50% and prices below averages other than a 1955 Pre-A Speedster that hit right on the average at a final bid of $365,000.
My biggest question leading into March is: will we finally see the return of a seasonal market as we’ve lacked the swings post the 2020 run-up? March is also the month of Amelia Island, but this year we also have RM Sotheby’s down in Miami for their Moda event. For Florida auction coverage, take a look at the Porsche Club of America’s YouTube channel where I covered some of the most impressive sales, and no sales, with Vu. Until next month.
- 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: stuttgartmarketletter.com
