In Driven headquarters (which consist of a large cardboard box, a single 10-year-old Toshiba lap top, and a grease encrusted toasted sandwich maker), 2017 was regarded as 'the year of the classic Porsche auction'.
They seemed to pop up monthly; auctions where delicious Porsches of all colours and creeds would come up for sale all over the globe — always rare, rarely cheap.
I, perhaps naively, thought that we would move on to something else in 2018. Like Japanese Kei cars or undriven Lada Nivas or something. But nope, it's just ticked over February and another amazing collection of Porsches is up for sale; this time at Amelia Island in Florida on March 9.
In total there are 12 Porsches. Most of them are 911s, but there's also a couple of delicate 356 Cabriolets, and a Carrera GT hypercar. They were all owned by James G. Hascall, who was once a military industrial defense contractor. He sadly passed away in 2016, leaving this brilliant collection looking for new owners.
Though the listings themselves on the Gooding & Company website don't yet showcase the expected prices for each of the dozen cars, reporting elsewhere has leaked the prices that the auctionhouse are expecting to attract.
Unsurprisingly the Porsche 959 (an ex-Japan Porsche Museum example with only 4,600 miles on the clock) is top billing. It's expected to net between NZ$1.2–1.6 million — not bad given a 959 Sport sold for double that almost exactly a year ago.
The 13-year-old Carrera GT (time flies, doesn't it) is valued at comfortably over a million New Zealand bucks, and wouldn't be so unique or special if it didn't sport a mere 120 miles on the clock... Mere delivery miles, with maybe a fun run or two thrown in.
The pair of 356 Cabrios will get those thirsty for wind in the hair excited, and are expected to sell for about a quarter of a million. The immortal silver 1996 993 Turbo S will sell for double that, and perhaps will attract just as much interest as the 959.
My favourite? That'd be the 2016 GT3 RS.
Not because it's the most capable or modern car there, but because it showed that Mr Hascall, the former owner of these gorgeous cars, got to enjoy them right up until his death.
If the last 12 months are anything to go by, these things will sell for incredible money.