According to a Bloomberg article, a Porsche Type 64 – which was a Nazi car – went up for sale at an auction. The 1939 piece is a real head turner and was expected to sell for $20 million, but the bidding war that ensued left the auction goers astounded.
“This is the only surviving example personally driven by Ferdinand Porsche,” the evening’s emcee said, who then announced that bidding would open at $30 million.
At first the crowd thought it was a joke, but it became clear very soon that he was serious.
The crowd became intrigued, though, and the bidding quickly ramped up to “70 million.” Everyone was on their feet, raising their phones to bid on this piece of history. Then, the auctioneer announced that he was mistaken. The bid was “17 million” and not “70 million.” The screen up front changed immediately to reflect the $17 million bid and the crowd started becoming more and more frustrated.
A Porsche Type 64 Nazi Car fails to sell at @Sothebys in worst auction blunder of all-time? https://t.co/doqKwlHbWq
— ArtTactic (@ArtTactic) August 19, 2019
The bidding increments were incorrectly displayed on the screen, creating mass confusion in the crowd and with the emcee. Many bidders called this display of incompetence an embarrassment for the auction and that it lost much credibility with the stunt it just pulled.
The auction for the Porsche Type 64 was terminated in minutes after no bids above $17 million appeared in the room and in the end the piece of history never sold.
So what do you think? Is this car really worth $17 million? Is the auction company at fault for the incorrectly displayed information or was it just a simple mistake? Let us know in the comments
