Cars & Auto

Denzel Washington’s 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo Commands Huge Premium

Some high-end cars that come to market flow through non-traditional channels. Large auction houses can be a wonderful asset for luxury car and collector car auctions. Denzel Washington’s 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo is being sold through an auction site called bringatrailer.com. With 1-day left for bidding, this ultra-premium Porsche sale is already at $315,000 — and the market value was listed around $175,000.00 according to CarGurus Instant Market Value listing.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates high-end collectibles as an alternative asset class. This means collectibles are attracting the same capital that could have been invested into stocks or bonds. Many investment cars now cost thousands of dollars (or much more). Collectors with a passion to own a car for years frequently have to compete directly against investors whose only desire is to make a profit in the future.

Beyond celebrity provenance outlined in the auction, this particular Porsche looks rather clean considering it is 25 years old. The car was bought new by Denzel Washington and has only about 18,000 original miles. Stored in a garage, this would out-do most modern era “barn finds.”

A Porsche collector would normally be buying this car because of the immaculate condition, but this celebrity provenance is driving additional interest. Otherwise it is not likely the premium would be anywhere close to this much.

Image below sourced from BringATrailer.com:

Denzel Washington Porsche 911

A 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo is a collector’s car where value is dependent specifically on the mileage and condition. Here are the good the bad and the ugly examples currently on autotrader.com within their classics section for a direct comparison without the celebrity provenance:

  • 1997 Porsche 911 Cabriolet listed for $80,200.00, color red, miles: 21,786.
  • 1997 Porsche 911 Cabriolet listed for $69,950.00, color arctic silver metallic, miles: 42,195.
  • 1997 Porsche 911 Coupe listed for $225,000.00, color: arctic silver metallic, miles: 73,255.
  • 1997 Porsche 911 Coupe listed for $96,500.00, color: grand prix white, miles: 62,246.
  • 1997 Porsche 911 Cabriolet $54,500.00, color: gray, miles: 111,600.

Here are similar cars ahead in the Mecum Houston Auction March 31 – April 2 covered by Collectors Dashboard (unfortunately no estimates are given):

  • 1997 Porsche Boxster Convertible, color: arena red, miles: 48,905.

Original listing of Denzel Washinton’s 911: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1997-porsche-911-turbo-37/#comments-anchor

Auto Trader Porsche 911 link: https://classics.autotrader.com/classic-cars-for-sale/1997-porsche-911-for-sale

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