2019-08-05_Bloomberg_Businessweek-Europe_Edition

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Inmid-August duringPebble Beach, theworld’smost
prestigiouscarshow,a vehiclethatRMSotheby’sis calling
thePorscheType 64 isexpectedtosellforabout$20mil-
lion.It promisestobethemostcontroversialsaleoftheyear.
Price isn’tthe issue. Theauction estimatefromRM
Sotheby’sis farshyoftherecord$48.4millionpaidfora 1962
Ferrari 250 GTO.TheType64’spricewouldstillberarefied,
morelikethatofthe 1963 AstonMartinDP215,whichsoldfor
$21.45millionlastyear.
Itisn’tthecar’sdesign,either,that’spromptedpublic
debateonInstagramandindiscreetdiscussionsbetweenauto
brokersandtheirclients—thoughit doeslooklikea UFO.
EventhefactthattheType 64 wascommissionedby
the Nazisisunsurprising,grimasthatmaysound.Many
well-knownvehiclesweredevelopedforNazipurposes, COURTESY

RM

SOTHEBY’S

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CARS BloombergPursuits August 55

includingtheVolkswagenBeetleandMercedes-Benz770.
Theconflictthathaswealthycollectorswhisperingis that
theType 64 maynotactuallybea Porsche.“It’snot,”says
AndyPrill,a mechanicalengineerandownerofPrillPorsche
ClassicsinEngland.“Thisis onethingI’vebeenatpainsto
pointouttopeople.”Prillconductedthepresaleinspection
forRMSotheby’s,compilinga 53-pagedossieronthecar.His
take:WhiletheType 64 is a directancestorofthePorsches
thatcamelater,itsmixing-bowlheritage disqualifies it from
the same distinction.
In 1939, Ferdinand Porsche was a designer for Mercedes-
Daimler (founded in 1926) and Volkswagen (1937), among oth-
ers. He built the Type 64 as a commission from the National
Socialist Motor Corps. NSKK chief Adolf Hühnlein had hoped
the Type 64 would win a Berlin-to-Rome race planned to

A car built for the Nazi Party in 1939 has become the most polarizing
vehicle to go to auction in years. By Hannah Elliott

The $20 Million Porsche


That May Not Be a Porsche


From left: the Type
64; at a road race in
Korneuburg, Austria,
on April 6, 1952
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