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The Porsche 64, also known as the Type 64 and Type 60K10, is considered by many to be the first Porsche valued at $20m fails to sell amid California auction confusion
''luxuryes.com'', accessed 25 December 2022
The Porsche Type 64 , Chris Harris Drives , Top Gear
{{Porsche vehicles 64 Cars powered by boxer engines First car made by manufacturer
The Porsche 64, also known as the Type 64 and Type 60K10, is considered by many to be the first automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded ...
from what was to become the Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company ...
company, and a true design precursor to the post-war production model. The model number comes from the fact that it was built mainly from design drawings for the Type-64 "record car". Most mechanical parts came from the VW 38, the prototype of the KdF-Wagen better known as the Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...
. The chassis was heavily reinforced and the engine also reworked to produce around 40 horsepower
Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...
. The Type 64 was only a drawing until the three racers were built. The body was also a compromise in that the cab had to look like a KdF car, but the rest was 'record' car. The VW beetle
The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...
was the Type 60, and the name the "60K10" means body design 10 for the Type 60 Beetle. Its flat-four
A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the boxer-four engine, ...
engine produced between 32 and 40 bhp
BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
and gave a top speed of around .
The body design was made by the Porsche Büro after wind tunnel
Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...
tests for a planned V10
A V10 engine is a ten-cylinder piston engine where two banks of five cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V10 engines are much less common than V8 and V12 engines. Several V10 diesel engines have been pr ...
sports car that never came into existence, the Type 114. Dr. Ingr. Porsche promoted the idea to enter the car into the Berlin-Rome race scheduled for September 1939. The race did not take place but three cars were completed, with aluminium bodies hand shaped by the bodywork company Reutter (which also produced the VW 38 prototypes). One of these, the 38/41, was destroyed early in World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The two remaining cars, numbered 38/42 and 38/43, were used by the Porsche family
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company is ...
. Eventually they only used one of them and put the other in storage.
In May 1945 American troops discovered the one put in storage, cut the roof off and used it for joyriding
Joyriding refers to driving or riding in a stolen vehicle, most commonly a car, with no particular goal other than the pleasure or thrill of doing so or to impress other people. The term "Joy Riding" was coined by a New York judge in 1908.
Joy ...
for a few weeks until the engine gave up and it was scrapped. The last remaining Porsche 64 was owned by Ferry Porsche
Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche (19 September 1909 – 27 March 1998), mainly known as Ferry Porsche, was an Austrian-German technical automobile designer and automaker-entrepreneur. He operated Porsche AG in Stuttgart, Germany. His fathe ...
who had it restored by Battista Farina
Battista "Pinin" Farina (later Battista Pininfarina; 2 November 1893 – 3 April 1966) was an Italian automobile designer and the founder of the Carrozzeria Pininfarina coachbuilding company, a name associated with many well known postwar ca ...
in 1947. In 1949 it was sold to the Austrian motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
racer and with it he won the Alpine Rally
The Alpine Rally, also known by its official name Coupe des Alpes, was a rally competition based in Marseille and held from 1932 to 1971. In the 1950s and the 1960s, it was among the most prestigious rallies in the world and featured an internat ...
in 1950. The last time he drove it in a race was at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races
The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is an annual event held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. Its purpose is to provide an event in which historic racecars can compete. It takes place over the course of one weekend ...
in Monterey, California
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...
, in 1982. The scrapped car, chassis 38/42, has also been rebuilt and is now on display in the Petersen Automotive Museum
The Petersen Automotive Museum is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles. One of the world's largest automotive museums, the Petersen Automotive Museum is a nonprofit organization specializi ...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
Otto Mathé retained possession of 38/43 until his death in 1995, and two years later the Type 64 was sold for the second time in its history to Porsche collector and marque expert Dr. Thomas Gruber of Vienna, Austria. The 1939 Porsche Type 64, was to be auctioned in August 2019 during Monterey Car Week. RM Sotheby's predicted a selling price “in excess of $20 million” but it failed to sell at an auction marred by incorrectly displayed bid amounts.''luxuryes.com'', accessed 25 December 2022
References
External links
The Porsche Type 64 , Chris Harris Drives , Top Gear
{{Porsche vehicles 64 Cars powered by boxer engines First car made by manufacturer