2018 Mecum Monterey Sale (Porsche 550A Announcement)

A rare 1958 Porsche 550A Spyder will be on offer at the Mecum Monterey 2018 collector car auction.

Mecum announced a rare 1958 Porsche 550A Spyder with in-period racing history to headline the Monterey The Daytime collector car auction end August 2018 in California. The car was raced to three race wins by Ernst Vogel, a composer and professional concert pianist. The comprehensively restored Porsche has covered only 600 miles since completion of the restoration.

Mecum Monterey Collector Car Auction 2018

Mecum’s annual event on the Monterey Peninsula takes place August 23-25, 2018, at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa on Del Monte Golf Course.

Mecum usually offers around 600 cars during the Monterey Week sale that include the popular The Daytime Auction where the Porsche 550A is currently scheduled to head the auction block.

1958 Porsche 550A Spyder

Porsche built only 130 Porsche 550A Spyders in all versions of which only 40 where Porsche 550A Spyders specifically produced for racing.

The 1958 Porsche 550A-0141 Spyder on offer at Mecum Monterey 2018 captured three wins during its maiden 1958 season with driver Ernst Vogel, who just happened to be a virtuoso composer and professional concert pianist as well as a successful racer—not a combination you see every day. After its European racing tour, the 550A-0141 Spyder was returned to Porsche KG, reconditioned and then sold to Connecticut Porsche dealer and road-racer Harry Blanchard, who entered it in SCCA regional events along the East Coast.

Today, the car is owned by Porsche enthusiast Steve Terrien of Issaquah, Washington, who located the car in a warehouse in 1984. Throughout the next 30 years, the car underwent a fanatical comprehensive restoration that was done to exacting standards with such experts as the Kimmins brothers and the late Bill Doyle working their magic on the 550A Spyder. This breathtaking machine has accrued fewer than 600 miles of pleasure driving since completion of its restoration and currently presents in near flawless condition.

Porsche 550A Spyders at Auction

Porsche 550A Spyders rarely come to auction but after Bonhams sold the 1958 Porsche 550A Spyder, chassis 0145, for a model record $5,170,000 at Scottsdale 2018 not surprisingly more are up for sale. The record car was an official Porsche Works entry that finished second in class and fifth overall in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1958.

Only two of the earlier 550 Spyders were sold at auction in recent years. A 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder that raced in the US sold for $3,018,400 at the RM Sotheby’s Paris 2016 sale. Jerry Seinfeld’s unrestored and exceptionally original 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder sold for $5,335,000 at the Gooding Amelia Island 2016 sale.

A meticulously restored 1957 Porsche 550A Spyder, chassis 550A-0121, is also currently available in a private sale.

2018 Monterey Week Classic Car Auctions