Legendary race car driver, Sir Stirling Moss, recently took a spill while getting out of an elevator. However, that didn’t stop the 80-year-old from spilling $1.705 million on a 1961 Porsche RS61 Spyder, purchased from the comfort of his hospital bed.
Gooding & Company, the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, announced that the momentarily crippled race car driver purchased the car from the auction houses’ debut Amelia Island Auction.
It turns out that while Moss was stuck in an uncomfy bed somewhere in England with two broken ankles, four broken bones in one foot, and four chipped vertebrae, he continued to pursue the car of his current dreams via a proxy bidder.
The Porsche sports car up for bids has got a bunch similar traits in common with the RS60 that Sir “broken bones” Stirling zipped around racetracks during the hippie sixties of peace, love, and happiness—a car that almost won him the 1961 Targa Florio. According to Gooding & Company, this model was one of only 14 ever built, and the lightweight, 4-Cam RS61 was the ultimate evolution of the Porsche Spyder project that began with the legendary 550 Spyder.
Even injured, the racecar veteran was prepared to take no rubbish from any of the other bidders. With the original price set to be between $1.2 to $1.5 million, Moss finished the bidding race by offering a final price of $1.705 million.
But broken bones and a large body of water prevented Sir Stirling Moss from making an appearance to drive his car all the way back home. Instead he released a heart-warming, tears-down-your-cheek kind of note regretting his absence from the esteemed auction. He also released a couple of videos on his website and his YouTube account thanking all fans for their support during this immobilizing time.
Gooding & Company could not be more proud to see their Porsche-licious beauty scooped up by such an influential and talented race car driver.
The Porsche RS61 was one of two world record sales at Gooding & Company’s first-ever Amelia Island Auction that garnered more than $16.1 million for a total of 58 out of 71 lots sold, averaging an impressive $278,300 per car.
We hope Sir Stirling Moss gets better soon. Break a leg, mate!
Gooding & Company: The deluxe company will be holding a two-day Pebble Beach Auction on August 14 and 15, 2010. The Saturday and Sunday evening auctions will start at 6:00 p.m. and will be located at the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center.
