'It is tiny, and with a body made from thin sheets of hand-formed, aircraft-grade aluminum, it exudes fragility. It doesn't make up for its lack of robustness with any significant power. The car's modified, air-cooled Volkswagen four-cylinder engine is estimated to make 40 horsepower, and its top speed is around 90 miles an hour.'āthe auction house expects the car to sell for at least $20 million.ā
Get out your checkbooks and auction paddles.
Letās buy it and do an engine swap 
who wants to donate $19,999,950 to me so I can buy this???
All early Porscheās were made from hand formed aluminum. That changed in 1951 when they started building in Stuttgart. Their 550, 550A and 718 model street legal race cars were all made from hand formed aluminum.
This Type 64 is only one of 3 ever built. The only one to survive. A working copy was made in black and Porsche itself made a duplicate body that is on display at their museum.
I know who I want to buy itā¦ but Iād guess they may be bidding against a Porsche family member or the company itself.
How do those front wheels work? Do the fender skirts turn with them? Canāt tell from the pic how that functions.
I wondered about that also.
At least in this Video the skirts stay in place, on the road starting at 7:30
No, they are fixed. The body is pretty far out from the wheel to allow this. With the short wheelbase, it doesnāt have to turn super far to turn in a tight circle.
- Yrs ago you could have got it for $10k.
Personally, I think itās ugly and almost useless. Pause for the gasps of disbelief to subsideā¦and I wasnāt just struck by a bolt of lightning eitherā¦ 
I never really understood the desire to own something because it was the āfirst one they builtā. Thank goodness they kept working on them because if they looked like that, they wouldnāt have sold many or been in business longā¦ $20M, youāre nuts or $20M to you is the same as $20 to meā¦ 
Some confusion during the bidding but from reports the bid went up to 17 million and didnāt meet reserve. Whoever put the bid on the screen heard seventy instead of seventeen million.
RMās statement
We have been honored to present a car that holds such significance to automotive history as the 1939 Porsche Type 64. It has been an incredible journey in the lead up to Monterey as we were given the opportunity to share the genesis of one of the hobbyās most legendary brands with the world and work with renowned enthusiasts in the Porsche community. It is difficult to put a price on such a unique and historically significant artefact, and despite interest from discerning collectors, we were unable to reach common ground between seller and buyer on the night.
As bidding opened on the Type 64, increments were mistakenly overheard and displayed on the screen, causing unfortunate confusion in the room. This was in no way a joke or prank on behalf of anyone at RM Sothebyās, rather an unfortunate misunderstanding amplified by excitement in the room. The auction was not canceled. The car reached a high bid of $17 million.
Major screw-up by RM on the sale. Bidders didnāt know if this was real or a ruse. An auction house lives or dies by their reputation. This would have been bad for a $100,000 car. It is a disaster for a $20 Million car.
If you take a broad view of the offeringā¦ If you owned a Porsche collection (Collier, Leno, Seinfeld, Porsche) this car would fill in the gaps in the story of Dr. Porscheās work at Mercedes to Auto Union to the VW Beetle to Cisitalia to Porsche AG. The car is significant for that reason.
There is only one left and many collections. That rarity compared to demand is what sets the price.
From a recent āspikes car radioā several big Porsche collectors were offered the car privately and turned down the more than 20 milliondollar asking price. No mention of what the reserve was on the auction.
Exactly. If you gave it to me Iād get rid of it.
AMCās Gremlin was better looking.
You guys didnāt mention the best part . . . in my opinion
Porsche AG claims the car that failed to meet the reserve price . . . wasnāt technically a Porsche
Apparently Ferry Porsche applied the Porsche nameplate several years after the car was built
And Porsche AG didnāt even exist in 1939
I suppose we can agree that the type 64 is ābuilt by Porscheā . . . Ferry Porsche, that is, not a company called Porsche
Itās nitpicking, but still . . .