Someone Is Auctioning Their Collection Of Over 50 White Porsches And A Literal ‘Motor Trend Car Of The Year’ Trophy

White Collection Topshot
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A mysterious collection of white Porsche sports cars is going up for auction in Houston, but the cars themselves might not be nearly as interesting as the memorabilia accompanying them. Fifty-six cars, all in varying shades of white, are going under RM Sotheby’s hammer, and expected pricing falls within the upper echelons of the collector car market. But again, don’t be dissuaded just yet, it’s the weird stuff up for auction that’s most exciting.

918 Spyder

Let’s kick things off with a modern legend, the Porsche 918 Spyder. This particular example sports an incredible options list including a full Leather to Sample Yachting Blue interior, color-matched magnesium wheels, the Weissach performance package, an absence of Acid Green accents, and a special 25-foot charging cable delivered through the Sonderwunsch program. With just 12 miles on the clock, it’s basically a brand new one-off. Oh, and here’s a weird bit of perspective: Because the 918 Spyder is so valuable, it’s one of the few near-decade-old plug-in vehicles worth popping for a high-voltage battery pack replacement on.

964 Rsr

However, what if a custom-ordered 918 Spyder is just a bit too common? What if you want something with a total production run of two, an air-cooled flat six, and purple wheels? Say hello to the 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.8 Strassenversion. Yep, Porsche only made a pair of leather-lined roadgoing 964 RSR race cars, and this is one of them. On top of all the astounding trimming, this example features the twin-spark Le Mans-spec engine, a full set of air jacks, and a 31.7-gallon fuel tank. Not a bad way of spending a few million, huh?

Gt2 Rs

Oh great, a late-model limited-run Porsche expected to trade for far beyond its new MSRP. Sure, but my inner nerd noticed something weird about this 991.2 GT2 RS — its bumper air vents and skirts are painted to match the body. I can’t say I’ve ever seen one like that, which begs the question: Is this a special Exclusive Manufaktur thing, or is it aftermarket? I have a feeling that all will be revealed as listing details come online.

Porsche 992 Targa

The most recent car up for auction is a 2021 911 Targa 4S, a bit of an anomaly because although it’s a Heritage Edition car, it’s definitely not of the same ultra-performance pedigree as, say, all the GT cars and the 918 Spyder. It’s also valued at between $500,000 and $600,000, a wild figure even factoring all the special touches on this car. It has stripes that aren’t off-the-rack, an interior that was never a package option, and uniquely-finished wheels to match the stripes. For the right buyer, it will be worth a premium over a standard Targa 4S Heritage Edition, but the estimated hammer price seems awfully steep.

Porsche 944 S2 Cabriolet

Expected to be the cheapest car in the collection, this 1990 944 S2 Cabriolet is expected to fetch between $40,000 and $60,000, which might be a record for this model, yet is surprisingly realistic. The recent Bring A Trailer high water mark for that particular sort of Porsche is a one-owner, 22,000-mile example that hammered for $42,750 as pandemic craziness ramped up, and that thing wasn’t even rolling on a pristine set of D90s.

Porsche Hard Hat

However, the secretive cars are far from the weirdest part of this auction. There are hundreds of pieces of Porsche paraphernalia up for grabs, and damn near all of it seems to have no reserve. How much do you reckon a Porsche hard hat will go for?

Motor Trend Trophy

Hey, do you reckon Motor Trend might want this back? It’s not every day that you see an actual magazine Car of the Year award trophy up for auction, and the presence of this piece only fuels speculation as to who the anonymous collector behind this horde of vehicles could be.

Brochure Rack

Less mysterious but still incredibly cool is this period-correct mid-1990s brochure rack, complete with 993 brochures. Er, brochures of the Porsche 993, not nearly 1,000 brochures. That would be too damn heavy. Still, imagine having this in your living room. Most of your dates won’t be impressed, but that’s showbiz.

Porsche Boxster Materials

Aw man, they’re gonna make me bid on this, aren’t they? As with many enthusiasts, I’m a sucker for literature on my cars, and this massive kit of 986 Boxster literature is right up my alley. This will probably go for far too much money, so it’s just cool to see for now. Look at all those pages!

Interestingly enough, the Porsche Club of America’s Panorama publication was given a look inside the White Collection back in 2018, and at the time, the collection also featured a wild Carrera GT and a particularly rare 959. I wonder what happened to those cars? In any case, all of this unexpected Porsche stuff goes up for auction starting Dec. 1 in Houston. Have a gander through the catalog, because I’d love to know what weird piece of kit you want to pick up.

(Photo credits: RM Sotheby’s)

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51 thoughts on “Someone Is Auctioning Their Collection Of Over 50 White Porsches And A Literal ‘Motor Trend Car Of The Year’ Trophy”

  1. The owner is Vinod Ramani. He owns/runs Urban Living in Houston which is involved in real estate. The “secret” location is right across the highway from Minute Maid Park where the Astros play in Houston. White building on the corner of St Emanuel & Congress.

  4. Disappointingly boring collection, as others have pointed out (I’d still happily take any of them, but not my first pick of color).

    I’m a sucker for literature and scale models, so all of that (The PANAMERICANA!!)

    But! The Coplex Microfiche is quite possibly the coolest piece of dealer kit imaginable. and useful!

  6. Wow, what a tasteless whim of a collection. And none of them driven. I do respect the cars, but 12 miles on the odo, I mean, seriously? Welcome to the more money than brains club.

    1. It’s kinda sad really. Imagine being a Porsche engineer, spending years making sure that the 918 (eg) is as good as it can possibly be. Spending late nights designing the suspension to be as light as possible, but as strong as necessary. Making sure the engine was putting out last horse power it possibly could, whilst still being reliable. Someone probably hand stitched the interior fabrics, even making sure that the bits under the seat, were just as neat as the part you can see. A huge effort, from a team of people at the top of their game:

      Only for some guy to buy it, and put it in a warehouse and never drive it. Porsche might as well have just built a body shell and stuck some wheels on it. Who wants a paperweight?

      1. I used to work at an automotive parts manufacturer. We had an excellent quality engineer who was burned out. It took a job with a company that made high end kitchen appliances. His theory was that it would be the easiest job ever, because no one who purchased the products actually used them.

  7. Yes, AMAZING cars but this is so boring all white…I hate white the most on a car since to me, it’s the absence of color. Plus, it’s everywhere including most business/government fleets. So damn boring…these should all be Easter egg colors!

        1. Depends on how you look at it. Inks, dyes, paints are essentially filtering out particular wavelengths of light that are reflected off the painted surface. Mixing all the colors is filtering out all the reflected wavelengths. So, either way, white is the reflection of all wavelengths of light.

      2. Ok, yeah of course on the technical side…I guess that was just my way of describing it since when I think of actual colors it’s all the Easter eggs, and I like black too…I guess white is just low on the list of car colors I like…blue is at the top always

      1. there may or may not be several parsh items I would not kick out of the house, however, I did not get the Barbie 911 as a kid and have wanted it ever since I knew it (and 911s) existed

          1. Oh, I have the Power Wheels 911 already, haha. Bought it as a Lemons paddock vehicle for $100 off Marketplace (albeit with more prior kid use than the one in this auction). I need to add the Porschelump’s livery to it and a bit more power to the wheels, but we had plenty of fun rolling around MSR-Houston’s paddock listening to Paul Wall slab jams in stock form. (There’s even an aux jack! Fancy.)

  12. I drive past this building all the time, excited to finally (hopefully) be able to get inside whenever the auction actually happens. From the outside it’s a completely white (shocking I know) warehouse with garage doors all down one side. The only hint as to what’s inside is the street number on the door being printed in the Porsche font

      1. I did. That’s crazy, I can’t believe I did that. Maybe I’m holding a grudge I didn’t know about against Harris. It probably stems from him letting Flintoff & McGuiness bully him and never giving them both a swift kick in the plumbs.

  16. I have enough trouble giving one car my attention and drive it enough, and still have to sell myself on the idea of adding a second car to the garage.

    Fifty though? I feel like just exercising them has to be a full time job in itself!

  17. Good parsh, terrible [lack of] color, and a concerning lack of mileage on some of these. I’m digging the purple wheels and fun interiors, but with a paint catalog as vast as Porsche’s, I mean, do whatever makes you happy, but it’s not for me. The colors that snuck in are beauts, though—especially the dark red Pre-A and the tractors. Also, I’d take a 2.7 RS in any color you could get me.

    Oh, and I HAVE this one: https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/wc23/the-white-collection/lots/n0005-porsche-911-gt3-power-wheels/1403580 (albeit in worse shape, waiting for vinyl to dress it up like a mini-Porschelump). Mine was $100 off of Marketplace, admittedly.

    Also, NO, THAT ISN’T A REALISTIC PRICE FOR A 944 S2. Bring a Trillion is not realistic and should never be used as a barometer for such. Plus, it’s a cab, which is far easier to find on those (and even more so for the 968) than a hardtop. Part of me wants one with a real roof on it. My car, but with a 3.0L! Shoot. Please do not inflate the prices of these by referring to BaT. Between that and the 924 Martini Edition, it does seem like Sotheby’s projected prices are a tad inflated.

    The memorabilia makes me wonder if this was a dealership guy. Hmm.

    2. Ope, not a dealership guy—real estate. https://texags.com/forums/38/topics/3242234

      Aaaaaaaaand he might be selling for a reason: https://www.chron.com/business/article/Judge-says-real-estate-firm-s-owner-on-hook-for-13412777.php
      http://swamplot.com/urban-living-gets-29-million-penalty-for-copycatting-townhomes/2018-11-08/
      http://swamplot.com/breaking-down-the-math-behind-urban-livings-29-million-dues/2018-11-09/
      https://www.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/9rb6w2/anybody_know_anything_about_the_urban_living/
      https://www.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/16dgu3t/what_houston_business_will_you_never_set_foot_in/jzph0jb/

    4. Whenever I envision my dream Jeep collection, it’s much closer to “one of every color I like across a few select models” than “one of every model, in white”.

      And by “closer” I mean every inch conceivable closer. What a shame this collector has no imagination.

  21. The sleds, skibob, and office chair are all winners to me, in my cursory first look. I won’t be bidding, but I will probably be watching and wishing.

    It’s a really interesting collection.

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