An extremely rare 1989 Porsche 911 Turbo SE ‘Flat Nose’ Cabriolet broke UK auction records when it sold for £245,250 including premium at the Salon Privé Sale organised by Silverstone Auctions at Blenheim Palace on 2nd September 2017.
One of only 10 made, the UK specification Minerva blue ‘Flat Nose’ is one of the scarcest examples in existence, and considered by many to be the ‘holy grail’ of 930-type 911s. With an original pre-auction lower estimate of £190,000, bidding for the rare 911 was frenetic and after a dramatic standoff between room and phone bidders the final price drew ecstatic applause when the hammer finally fell in favour of a room bidder.
Classic Porsches performed strongly in the wake of the record-breaking ‘Flat Nose’ with a 1962 Porsche 356B 1600S Coupé selling for £118,125 and a 1960 356B ‘Super 90’ Cabriolet sailing past its £160,000 lower estimate to achieve a final sale price of £191,250 after a two way battle in the sale room.
“Porsches performed particularly well at the Salon Privé Sale and we’re delighted with the result of the 911 ‘Flat Nose’,” commented Nick Whale, managing director of Silverstone Auctions. “It was a very specialised and eclectic collection of cars, but I’m very pleased with the records achieved, and I’m very excited about the prospects of our forthcoming Porsche Sale at Silverstone on 21st October.”
One of the longest and most intense battles of the afternoon came close to the end of the day for a 1988 Porsche 911 (930) Turbo Targa which was the subject of a war of attrition as a room bidder battled in vain against internet interest in £500 increments until the price reached a final £93,375, victory eventually going to the internet bidder.
Silverstone Auctions achieved an impressive total of £2.75 million in sales on the day, with 52 per cent of the cars on offer finding a new home.
With such a strong Porsche performance at Salon Privé, all eyes are now on the Porsche Sale organised by Silverstone Auctions at The Wing, Silverstone on Saturday, 21st October 2017.
To view the full list of results from Silverstone Auctions’ Sale at Salon Privé visit here.