This is what it looks like when a 1973 Porsche 917/30 Can-Am Spyder sells for $4.4Million (inclusive of buyer’s premium). Gooding’s sale of the Drendel Family Collection as part of this year’s Amelia Island auction had some marvelous Porsches, with several ex-Martini team cars, a 935, 962, and many other exotic Porsche racing models.
917/30-004 was to be Mark Donohue’s 1974 car, but rule changes delayed and ultimately halted construction for the Can-Am series. The car was completed and sold to Australian Porsche importer, Alan Hamilton, who displayed the car in her plain white livery in his Melbourne showroom. Porsche reacquired the car in 1991 and restored her in the 1973 Can-Am championship winning Penske-Sunoco livery she wears today.
Just sit back and take in these amazing statements from the lot detail page:
The Most Powerful Road-Racing Car Ever Built
An Undisputed Masterpiece of Automotive Engineering
One of Only Six Examples Built
Sold New to Australian Porsche Importer Alan Hamilton
Meticulously Restored in Penske Racing’s 1973 Sunoco Livery
Rennsport Reunion, AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix and Monterey Historics Participant
Featured Prominently in Pete Lyons’ Can-Am Cars in Detail
Eligible for Leading Historic Races and Porsche Gatherings
The Ultimate Evolution of the Porsche 917
Some of these things sound like hyperbole, until you realize they’re mostly true.
Rumor has it that she ended up in Seinfeld’s collection.