2021 Gooding Pebble Beach Sale (Porsche 934 / 935 Announced)

Gooding announced two top Porsche IMSA racing cars for the Pebble Beach 2021 sale: a 1980 Porsche 935 K3 and a 1977 Porsche 934/5.

1980 Porsche 935 K3 on sale at the Gooding Pebble Beach 2021 classic car auction
© Gooding

Two IMSA racing Porsches were added to the growing list of impressive and expensive cars being offered at the Gooding Pebble Beach 2021 classic car auction during the annual Monterey motoring week in mid-August in California, USA. The 1980 Porsche 935 K3 (Estimate: $2,500,000 – $3,000,000) was campaigned in period by Interscope Racing and more recently won Best in Class at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance 2021. The 1977 Porsche 934/5 (Estimate: $1,300,000 – $1,600,000) was the first of only ten built and initially raced by Brumos Racing.

Gooding Pebble Beach Sale 2021

Gooding & Company will hold its traditional Pebble Beach sale on 13 and 14 August 2021 at the Pebble Beach Parc du Concours during the annual Monterey Motoring Week in California, USA. It will be a traditional live auction.

In 2021, Gooding earned $107,045,410 at Pebble Beach selling 115 of 132 lots for a sell-through rate of 87% and an average price of $930,829 per lot.

After Monterey Week 2020 was canceled, Gooding earned $14,497,443 in the replacement Geared Online 2020 auction selling 55 of the 77 lots on offer for a sell-through rate of 71%. Five cars sold for more than a million dollar.

In comparison, at Pebble Beach in 2019, Gooding earned $76,824,740 with a sell-through rate of 77% – 108 of 140 lots offered — and 17 cars sold for over a million dollar each. This was already down on the  $116.5 million earned in 2018 and the record  $129.8 million earned in 2016 at the peak of the market.

Porsche Racing Cars at Gooding Pebble Beach 2021

Gooding announced two special Porsches that were raced in American series for the Pebble Beach 2021 classic car auction:

1980 Porsche 935 K3

1980 Porsche 935 K3 on sale at the Gooding Pebble Beach 2021 classic car auction
© Gooding

The 1980 Porsche 935 K3 (Estimate: $2,500,000 – $3,000,000) on offer in the Gooding Pebble Beach 2021 sale was developed by Kremer and initially raced by the Interscope Racing team. It is offered finished in the team’s black livery with tri-color stripes.

Introduced in 1976 as the Group 5 racing version of the turbocharged 930, the Porsche 935 went on to become one of the most successful models in the history of sports car racing. Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, the 935 utterly dominated endurance racing, winning the FIA World Championship for Makes each year from 1976 to 1979 and capturing outright wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 12 Hours of Sebring. While Porsche campaigned their own special works team cars, private customers could purchase production 935s from the factory, or turn to other teams like Kremer Racing from Germany, who developed their very own exotic variants of 935.

The car on offer at Pebble Beach 2021 is a 1980 935 K3, the most successful of the Kremer-developed 935 models, which features technically advanced air-to-air intercoolers and dramatic bodywork designed to mimic Porsche’s own 935/78 team car. This particular 935 K3, chassis 000 00027, was purchased new by the legendary Interscope Racing team and finished in their iconic black livery with tri-color stripes. Campaigned in the IMSA GTX class during the 1981 and 1982 seasons, and campaigned by Danny Ongais, Bill Whittington, and team owner Ted Field, this K3 achieved outstanding results including a 2nd place finish at the 1982 Road Atlanta IMSA Spring Sprints. In addition to its successful IMSA career, this 935 K3 also competed in the 1982 Sebring 12 Hours, the 1982 Riverside 6 Hours, and the 1981 Suzuka 1000 Kilometers. 

In its current ownership, this 935 K3 has been carefully prepared for an active career in vintage racing, with mechanical preparation overseen by the finest Porsche specialists in the US. Not only has this Interscope 935 been raced with success at Rennsport Reunion, the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, and Le Mans Classic, it recently received Best in Class at the 2021 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, where Porsche 935s were honored with a featured display.

1977 Porsche 934/5

1977 Porsche 934/5 on sale at the Gooding Pebble Beach 2021 classic car auction
© Gooding

The 1977 Porsche 934/5 (Estimate: $1,300,000 – $1,600,000) is a hybrid of the marque’s 934 and 935 models that was specifically designed by Porsche to compete in the North American IMSA series. The car on offer, chassis 930 770 0951, was the first of only 10 934/5s built, and promptly made its competition debut at the 1977 12 Hours of Sebring, where it was entered by the legendary Porsche team Brumos Racing. It was driven by the team’s star driver, Peter Gregg, along with race car driver Jim Busby. Remarkably, this example qualified 1st and finished the punishing endurance race in 3rd place, all while wearing its iconic Brumos livery. 

Chassis 930 770 0951 was then acquired by well-known privateer Jim Busby, who continued to race it through the 1977 season, where he placed 2nd at Laguna Seca. In 1978, the car was sold to another racer, Monte Shelton, who updated it to full 935 specification and continued to race it through the 1983 season. Since then, this 934/5 has been owned by a number of collectors, and recently underwent a restoration under the consignor’s care to refinish the 934/5 in the exact specification and livery in which it appeared at its competition debut at Sebring in 1977. To date, it has only been shown once, at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, and has never before been offered for public sale. This 934/5 would be a significant addition to any collection of Porsche racing cars, and due to its spectacular history, is suitable to be displayed in a museum and is eligible for historic events and vintage races such as the Rennsport Reunion.

The top racing Porsche on offer during Monterey week 2021 will, however, be on offer at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale: a 1970 Porsche 917K Coupe raced by JW Automotive Gulf Racing at Le Mans and featuring in the Steve McQueen Le Mans movie.

Monterey Motoring Week 2021

Most of the traditional Monterey Motoring Week events returned in mid-August 2021 after the cancellations in 2020. Top classic car auctioneers with sales during Monterey Week 2021 included Gooding (Pebble Beach), Bonhams (Quail Lodge), RM Sotheby’s, and Mecum.

Monterey 2021 Auction Results:

Monterey 2021 Auction Announcements:

Previous Monterey Week Auction Results

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