She bought the auto after seeing another prowling the hills of San Francisco.
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No fewer than seven bidders were competing for this psychedelic prize that the legendary rocker Janis Joplin bought used in 1968 for a measly $3,500.
And that hand-painted Porsche was auctioned Thursday night for $1.76 million – after being priced at between $400,000 and $600,000. According to the auction house, that’s a new record for a Porsche 356 sale at auction.
RM Sotheby’s offered the vintage cars at a sale yesterday (Dec 10) evening.
Ir was among the first “art cars” and one of the most famous and important Porsches of all time. The counter-tradition relic was featured at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland for the final 20 years. Janis’ fans witnessed how constantly she drove it. This also gave them the chance to leave notes under the car’s windshield wiper for their beloved idol.
The USD 28 million to USD 32 million pre-sale estimate made it one of the most valuable cars to come to auction.
Her death was discovered when the distinctive vehicle was seen parked outside the Landmark Motor Hotel, where she had accidentally overdosed on heroin in 1970.
Prices for classic cars are leveling off, following a period of record sales driven by expanding global wealth. The thief is said to have started repainting the vehicle, though he didn’t finish the job – the auto was recovered and returned to Joplin quickly enough, with Richards being able to remove the paint from the clearcoat with little damage to the artwork underneath.
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It ultimately was acquired by collector Pierre Bardinon and remained in his famend Mas du Clos Collection in France for nearly 34 years earlier than being acquired by the present proprietor, recognized exclusively as a personal European collector.
