Janis Joplin 356 for sale

This is more interesting to me at the $400K estimate than many of the now overpriced (in my opinion) vintage Ferraris and Porsches... (although I wonder how accurately they "freshened" up the paint- that refresh holds the value back vs. if it was kept original- if the original paint/artwork was in good shape and not requiring much freshening up I bet this would be a 7-figure auction estimate.. I'm sure the original paint/artwork was in pretty bad shape if the car was used by the brother and sister a bunch before retiring the car from "active duty")

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/janis-joplins-psychadelic-porsche-356-goes-under-129645379547.html

In October of 1970, a mere three days before she died, Janis Joplin famously sang, “Oh, Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes-Benz.” But don’t be fooled. Years earlier she demonstrated where her automotive allegiances were by letting rock-and-roll fame buy her a Porsche.

Joplin’s iconic and wildly psychedelic 1964 Porsche 356C 1600 SC Cabriolet, which for the last 20 years has greeted visitors to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, is ready to head to a new home.

The blues singer’s younger brother and sister, Michael and Laura, have put the car on the block as part of RM Sotheby’s December 10 auction in New York, one of 30 not-the-norm automobiles—including a rakish 2006 Lamborghini Concept S—that meet the event’s “Driven by Disruption” theme.

Janis Joplin’s Psychedelic Porsche 356 Goes Under The Hammer
“This Porsche fits in perfectly with the auction because of its tremendous impact on popular culture,” says RM Sotheby’s Ian Kelleher, who recalls first seeing the car while a college student, shortly after it arrived at the rock shrine in Ohio. “The paint job on that car really describes the time and place it lived in.”

One of the most famous photos of the Porsche and its diminutive driver was taken by the still-existing Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, the city Joplin called home after her upbringing in Port Arthur, Texas.

In it, Joplin is cloaked in classic ‘60s finery, including a fur coat and purple pants, and is sitting cross-legged on the hood of the 356C Cab, arms outstretched. The world truly was Joplin’s oyster at the time she purchased the used Porsche in 1968, with her unique and soulful croon having taken her from singer for Big Brother and the Holding Company to a star in her own right.


What’s most distinctive about the photograph is the Porsche’s paint. Joplin felt the car’s original white was a too demure for her tastes, and asked a Big Brother roadie, Dave Richards, to create a mural on the vehicle. Richards has described the result—which features butterflies, jellyfish and Joplin with her band—as “The History of the Universe.”

Kelleher says the auction house is anticipating a sale price of $400,000 for the little roadster. Air-cooled Porsches in general have been skyrocketing in value, with even some late-model 911s (993) doubling over the past year.

That said, this particular 356 model is more typically a modest six-figure car, with online hunts and a Hagerty Insurance estimate finding prices closer to $150,000. This nearly triple-the-norm sum for Joplin’s baby speaks to a number of factors.

“First of all, we are seeing tremendous interest in this car from people who have maybe one or two cars, but are very big into collecting things from the art and music worlds, people who have literally said to me, ‘I can’t believe this car is for sale,’” says Kelleher.

Another lure is the rare fact that the car was owned and driven by a legendary woman.


“So often, amazing cars that have been driven by women were bought by men for their mistresses or muses,” says Kelleher, one example of many being the famous Pebble Beach-winning 1954 Ferrari 375MM Scaglietti Coupe that Italian director Roberto Rossellini bought for his actress wife, Ingrid Bergman, which ultimately gave rise to a special Ferrari grey paint color that still exists, Grigio Ingrid.

“The fact that this car was bought by and driven by this female icon really gives it a unique story,” says Kelleher. “It just doesn’t happen often.”

After Joplin’s untimely death at age 27 - part of a rash of rock legend passings in 1970 and 1971 that included Jimi Hendrix and Doors frontman Jim Morrison - the Porsche went to her siblings, who treated it as welcome transportation.

“Michael and Laura (the latter wrote the book turned play, “Love, Janis&#8221 shared many stories with me of driving it,” says Kelleher. “It was a used car, and not something they anticipated would rise to cult status.”

The car was often seen spotted on grocery store runs and other errands, and given the small-town nature of where the Joplin kids lived - Kelleher wouldn’t say where, other than out West - no one made a big fuss over the Porsche.

Time gradually took its toll, and when, in the early ‘90s, paint started flaking off in chunks, the car underwent a largely cosmetic restoration to restore its wild paint scheme. In 1995, it was handed over to the rock museum, drained of fluids and parked.


As for why the Joplins have opted to sell the car now, Kelleher says “they’re two fairly normal people, not billionaires,” although they do control Janis’ presumably lucrative estate.

“This car, frankly, has reached the point where it’s truly an asset whose value forces you to think about selling it,” he says. “They thought the timing was right, given the new documentary” called “Janis,” which recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

Kelleher says that this Porsche 356 comes in second only to one car the auction house sold previously when it comes to causing a global stir: the classic 1964 Aston Martin DB5 driven by Sean Connery in the James Bond film “Goldfinger,” which fetched $4.6 million in 2010.

What makes the Joplin Porsche perhaps even more of a buzz-generating machine is that “a perfect match between the demographic of people who loved and appreciated her music, and the demographic of our buyers”—in other words, boomers with some disposable income.

“This may not be the most valuable Porsche ever to come to auction,” says Kelleher, “but it is certainly among the most significant and interesting ever.”

All photos: Darin Schnabel © 2015 courtesy RM Sotheby’s

 

Doing a quick search on her car, it looks like the paint job is different- in some pictures with her in it the doors on both sides have a lot of sky/blue, whereas the paint scheme now is different. Not sure if it was re-painted/pictures changed when she owned it or later, but I'm starting to see why this car is not a "million dollar car"- the artwork no longer seems to be original.

 

The car sat neglected outside after Janis died, the paint was toast. The family rescued it.

It was re-painted a solid color and driven regularly.

It was restored later, using old photos, but the designs are slightly different.

 

That kind of ruins it, honestly.

 

I totally agree- which is why I responded to my own original post once I figured that out. Too bad- an interesting car but not worth even the $400K to me...don't get me wrong, someone will likely pay it but to me not worth it

Bullfighter- are you in the PCA? If so, the latest Panorama issue has a great article on a family owned speedster that is in original condition as it was raced in local SCCA events in the 60's.. The Panorama magazine has gotten so much better the past 2-3 years (and was very good before that!)

 

I am. Just re-upped and will look for it.

Mine was raced from new up till 1976, but wasn't roadworthy, or aesthetically passable, after 33 years in storage.

 

You will definitely enjoy the article...I'll have to see if I can find a way to post it up here.

 

I thought she wanted a Mercedes Benz ?

 

Her friends all drove Porches...

 

Sorry about the unforgivable typo...

 

Taken by me at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix this summer.

To me, it has very little in common with the original. It's essentially a fake. It may be the same serial number, but it doesn't retain what made it special.

Look at the details.

Matt
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Some asshat paid $1.76 MILLION for this re-creation on the same car.

I could post some more pictures, but it's obviously not the same artwork as when Janis had it.

That paint had been stripped, and then someone much later tried to restore it. And executed it poorly.

This points to a market bubble for me.

Matt

 

Twas was a respray?????

WOW. It really is true regarding a fool and his money. Speechless.

And you are 100 percent correct. This will be a subject of laughter years down the road. Thanks for uploading the photos!

 

I'm surprised that this thread hasn't generated more ridicule.

$1.76 MILLION.

That's indicating a swollen bubble to me.

Matt

 

Now everybody thinks their Janis Joplin 356 is worth 1.76M?

 

roughly $1.6MM more than it should have bid to

 

This. Pretty much the entire premium of the car would have been in the unique paint job.

But there had to be at least two fools involved.

Amazing...

 

What % Janis?

 

That's a very unrealistically low estimate.

Preliminary appraisals varied from about $300k to $750k,most thought it would sell for in the $500k neighborhood.

It was, after all, Janis' car.

No one expected the final sale price, though... maybe not even the buyer.
Anyone know who bought it?

 

$500K for the same car but with a repaint by someone other than the original artist?

Matt

 

That's an interesting question. Some celebrity associations bring more than others, and this one was actually driven and used by Janis Joplin.

Is she as big a draw, automotively, as Steve McQueen? Probably not.

 

Did her car go to an automobile person?

Was at the Pete when when Steve's Persol's went for 50K. His sock drawer's as big a hit as his garage ...

 

I remember looking at s/n 7359, which is a 275 GTS that once belonged to Racquel Welch. It sold at a 2003 Mecum auction for $119k, which was going rate at the time. I don't think that her celebrity status gave the car any added value.

It's a funny comparison that I bring up only because I remember both Janis Joplin and Racquel Welch on the same Dick Cavett stage. Out of the two women, I'd pay more to sit where one sat, not the other.



But I assume the premium here is for the paint.

Matt

 

The Hemmings article.

Mind blowing. The right serial number, but a paint job re-done in the 1990s, more than two decades after the original.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

She was singing on stage when someone stole it. The thief repainted it with spray can applied primer.
I don't know why the roadie that did the psychedelic paint job wasn't brought it to repaint it but the repainting was done at some point by two set designers when the car was part of some production (musical?) about Janis. Like you say, the side by side pictures show it was close but no cigar.
Does anyone know from what town the car was recovered, when that was and if the thief went to jail?