Photo: RM Sotheby's
Historically speaking, all ragtops from the Porsche 356 series were built by Karmann in Germany. When the time came to replace the aging 356 with the 911, Porsche commissioned the independent company to manufacture 13 prototypes, baptized 901. Then, Butzi Porsche gave Karmann the order to make a ragtop.
The pictured vehicle is chassis number 13360, otherwise known as the only 901 Cabriolet out there. It took the German sports car brand the better part of 18 years to debut the 911 Cabriolet in 1982 for the 1983 model year, but if it weren’t for the 901 Cabriolet, the soft-top 911 would've never happened.
Without a shadow of a doubt, the 901 Cabriolet is a sort of genesis for the most extroverted variant of the 911. This is why the estimate on #13360 is €850,000, probably €1,000,000 if Jerry Seinfeld also shows up at the RM Sotheby’s Paris auction in February 2017. In U.S. dollars, that’s anything between $905,000 to $1,065,000 according to the current conversion rate.
Considering the origin, exclusivity, significance, and original condition of the car, I’m willing to bet that RM Sotheby’s will be surprised by how generous the winning bid will be. As with every other 911 built in 1964, the hood hides a 2.0-liter flat-6 with 130 PS (129 bhp) on tap. It is matched to a 5-speed manual referred to as the Type 901 transmission. What a coincidence, isn’t?
Fuchs alloys go hand in hand with the red paint finish, as does the wood-rimmed steering wheel with the houndstooth seats. Ever since it left the factory in 1966, the 901 Cabriolet was never altered from the way it was back then. The original owner, Manfred Freisinger, traded it for another Porsche in 2000, the year when the current owner got its hands on it.
“Say, why did Porsche wait 18 years to adapt the 901 Cabriolet into the 911 Cabriolet?” About that, pending rollover regulations for new cars sold in North America convinced Butzi Porsche, son of Ferry Porsche and grandson of Ferdinand, to go forward with the 911 Targa until further notice.
Without a shadow of a doubt, the 901 Cabriolet is a sort of genesis for the most extroverted variant of the 911. This is why the estimate on #13360 is €850,000, probably €1,000,000 if Jerry Seinfeld also shows up at the RM Sotheby’s Paris auction in February 2017. In U.S. dollars, that’s anything between $905,000 to $1,065,000 according to the current conversion rate.
Considering the origin, exclusivity, significance, and original condition of the car, I’m willing to bet that RM Sotheby’s will be surprised by how generous the winning bid will be. As with every other 911 built in 1964, the hood hides a 2.0-liter flat-6 with 130 PS (129 bhp) on tap. It is matched to a 5-speed manual referred to as the Type 901 transmission. What a coincidence, isn’t?
Fuchs alloys go hand in hand with the red paint finish, as does the wood-rimmed steering wheel with the houndstooth seats. Ever since it left the factory in 1966, the 901 Cabriolet was never altered from the way it was back then. The original owner, Manfred Freisinger, traded it for another Porsche in 2000, the year when the current owner got its hands on it.
“Say, why did Porsche wait 18 years to adapt the 901 Cabriolet into the 911 Cabriolet?” About that, pending rollover regulations for new cars sold in North America convinced Butzi Porsche, son of Ferry Porsche and grandson of Ferdinand, to go forward with the 911 Targa until further notice.
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