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Is $170K Too Much to Pay for a 61-Year Old, 59 HP Porsche?

Nowadays, when looking to spend a small fortune on a car buyers carefully try to match the numbers that come with the vehicle with whatever trait of the machine makes them tick. That means that besides looks, appeal, and rarity, the car should have impressive output figures as well.
1959 Porsche 356A Convertible D 22 photos
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So hearing someone is bidding $170,000 for a Porsche powered by a (numbers-matching) 1.6-liter engine good for just 59 horsepower and 81 lb-ft of torque is not all that common.

But neither is the car itself. Listed on a specialized auctions website is a 1959 Porsche 356A of the Convertible D variety, one of the rarest Porsches in the world.

We’re talking about a car whose line started being made in 1955 and also became known as the Type 1 or T1. The line was in production for just four years, and in the final one, 1959, was gifted with a D convertible variant.

Converted to this style by German shop Karosseriewerke Drauz (hence the D in the designation), only a little over 1,300 of them were ever made, making them incredibly rare.

It’s unclear how many of these cars are still around, but this one here is in good enough shape to prompt someone into pledging $170,000 for it with just eight hours left before the closing of the auction, at the time of this writing.

Wrapped in Ivory paint (black convertible top) over a red leatherette interior, the car does come with its share of imperfections: chips here and there, discoloration on the body, and pitting on the chrome bumpers are there to highlight that this is by no means a young car.

If the massive bid is accepted by the current owner, the future one would also be getting a Kardex, a Porsche service book, a Driver’s manual, operating instructions for the convertible top, a letter from the previous owner, and a clean Pennsylvania title.

Given the condition of the car, and the fact that most of the Porsches in this family usually go for a little under the amount offered for this one, $170k is not that much to pay for it. It'd be a challenge though for the future owner to try and sell it for more than that and land a profit.

UPDATE: the car was eventually sold for $210,000.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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