Famous Comedian’s Porsches (and a VW Beetle) Fetch $22.24 Million at Storied Auction

BY Jim Shi // Mar 17, 2016

Three of Jerry Seinfeld's prized Porsches sold at auction: a 1956 Porsche 550 Spyder, a 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 RSR, and 1958 Porsche 356 A Carrera Speedster. (Courtesy Gooding & Company)

Jerry Seinfeld’s passion for vintage Porsches is the stuff of legend. While estimates put the comedian’s collection of Zuffenhausen’s finest at around 47, that count dropped by a few over the weekend when more than a dozen of his prized beauties were auctioned off at Gooding & Company’s annual Amelia Island sale. The transactions netted $22.24 million.

Leading the charge was Seinfeld’s 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder—the model James Dean was driving when he fatally crashed in 1955— which sparked a bidding war that topped out at $5.3 million, the top haul of the lot. Porsche 550 Spyders rarely come up for auction, and when they do prices reflect their rarity and desirability. Roughly 90 examples were built between 1952 and 1956, and most led lives as competition racing cars. Seinfeld’s 550, which was built in August 1955 and finished in an unusual blue with white livery, lived a relatively pampered life.

Other Seinfeld cars sold included a 1959 Porsche 718 RSK, which went for $2.86 million; a ’74 Porsche 911 Carrera IROC RSR that sold for $2.3 million; a ’90 Porsche 962C that went for $1.65 million; and a 356 Speedster from ’58—reportedly the only one finished in the special-order color of Auratium Green—that changed hands for $1.54 million.

jerry-seinfeld-porsche-race-car-600x337 — Jerry Seinfeld loves cars. (Courtesy celebritycarsblog.com)

Despite commanding respectable prices, neither of Seinfeld’s 356 Speedsters managed to upstage the 2015 record set by Janice Joplin’s Porsche 356 C, which sold for $1.76 million.

Seinfeld said he was thrilled with the results of the auction, even if not all of his vehicles commanded blue-chip premiums: a 1973 Porsche 917/30 Can-Am Spyder sold for $3 million, against its $5 million estimate, while a ’59 718 RSK went for only $2.86 million — it was valued at $4 million. The only vehicle in the lot of 16 Porsches that didn’t sell was a 2000 Porsche Carrera GT, which was a prototype and can’t be driven.

Seinfeld also parted with his original 1960 Volkswagen Beetle, which sold for a record $121,000, well above its estimated $45,000 value.