World’s oldest surviving Porsche goes up on sale

A Porsche Type 64, one of the first Porsche cars ever and the only surviving example of its kind – will soon go up on a sale in Monterey, CA. The initial asking price is an impressive U.S. $20,000,000.

The car was built in the faraway year 1939 on the technological base of the KdF-Wagen (“The Beetle”). Volkswagen AG asked Porsche to build just three Beetle Type 64 racecars. The vehicles were to participate in a 1,500-kilometer-long race from Berlin to Rome, but never hit the track due to the beginning of the World War II.

The lengthy race was intended as a celebration of the KdF-Wagen entering the market, and simultaneously as an original way to advertise superb German highways (Autobahns).

The Type 64 inherited the KdF-Wagen engine, albeit boosted from its initial 24 hp (18 kW) to deliver 32 hp (24 kW). It also used the same transmission and suspension while featuring a brand-new body made of aircraft-grade aluminum.

Porsche had only managed to produce a single copy of the Type 64 before the war broke out and had to abort the project completely afterwards. Despite this, Ferdinand “Ferry” Porsche has succeeded in securing the production facilities necessary to finish the batch privately. The second car was complete in late 1939, and the third one followed in June 1940, becoming the personal means of transportation of the Porsche family.

Photos: RM Sotheby's