A star-studded past meets a time-honored tuner; the auction result speaks for itself
What do you get when you cross a rare car from a desirable automaker, sprinkle on some modifications from one of the most well-respected shops in the world, and toss in celebrity ownership? Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s the perfect recipe for a landmark auction result. This almost pedestrian-looking vintage Porsche sold for an incredible $665,000 (rounding from $664,500 after fees) at auction last weekend. Lots of people are probably asking the same thing: why?
First: what’s with the car? While high six-figure Porsche prices are hardly news, this isn’t a GT model, like a GT3 RS or GT2 RS. It certainly isn’t a member of Porsche’s limited-production supercar lineage, a la the Porsche 918 and Porsche 959. No, what we have here is a 1971 Porsche 911S Coupe with significant changes to, well, everything.
A highly customized 3.4-liter flat-six pairs with a six-speed manual transmission, making this over 50-year-old car a much more modern driving experience. Bigger brakes from a later Porsche 930 model, iconic Fuchs 15-inch wheels, and RUF-sourced goodies, including an exhaust and suspension, are just some of the bigger-ticket items. Truthfully, we haven’t even scratched the surface. In total, modifying this vintage 911 took three years and the handsome sum of €257,883 — around $364,309 U.S. or $535,945 today. (This number was achieved by first getting exchange rates in 2011, the year the car was finished, then converting it into today’s buying power via the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI calculator.)
Bring A Trailer
Bring A Trailer
Bring A Trailer
Bring A Trailer
Seinfeld’s 911 — really worth $665,000?
Porsche’s vaunted 911 has always commanded a premium. If you need evidence, look at the automaker’s track record. Prices swelled tens of thousands of dollars in the last few years, including two price hikes in 2025 alone, once for delivery fees across the entire lineup. It hasn’t dampened the brand’s U.S. sales, though. In fact, for the first nine months of the year, Porsche is up 5.6% over last year. People are truly willing to pay up for Porsche models — new or old. While you’re probably no stranger to the “Porsche tax,” there’s another equally powerful tax at work here: the Seinfeld tax. The comedian has become synonymous with Porsche and air-cooled VW enthusiasm in the automotive space. His 50th Anniversary 911.1 Turbo set a record for the model on Bring a Trailer, commanding over $450,000.
No less important to the car’s bottom line is that original €257,883 spent with the renowned Porsche tuner shop, RUF. If you don’t know, RUF, in its own words, is “a sports car manufacturer with its own vehicles and performance parts to optimize Porsche models.” They’ve been around since 1939 and are responsible for iconic cars like the classic Porsche-based supercar, the “Yellowbird” or CTR. With verified work performed — and pictures that come with the sale of the car — there’s no doubt that this is part of RUF’s history as much as it is a part of Porsche’s and Seinfeld’s. It’s the kind of thing serious collectors go wild over.
Bring A Trailer
Bring A Trailer
There’s one other reason that €257,883 is important. Adjusted for inflation and converted to USD, it accounts for most of the winning bid itself. Considering that getting into a clean 901 is normally a six-figure affair these days, if you wanted to build the same car yourself today, you’d likely be spending just as much. This is, remember, a first-generation 911; one of the few nameplates still running today with a fervent, and unusually well-heeled enthusiast base to boot. As far as comparisons go, prior to this listing, only around 30 RUF-modified Porsche 911s have ever been listed on Bring a Trailer. The closest example is a 1973 Carrera RS, which sold for $445,000 in 2019.
Final thoughts
While $665,000 for a car largely devoid of wild-looking wings, shapely spoilers, or various vents may raise eyebrows, it’s arguably easier to make a case for this car than any number of other six- or near-seven-figure cars that get sold at auction. For one, recreating this exact car would cost you nearly the winning bid. Two, Seinfeld’s ownership history ensures this specific car will remain important and fairly easy to sell. Both wealthy Seinfeld fans and wealthy Porsche collectors — or, what’s most likely, a mix of both — will find value in the car’s celebrity history. You can check out the completed auction on Bring a Trailer.
About the author
Steven Paul
Contributing Writer, Autoblog