There are some tough decisions for Porsche lovers at Shannons Melbourne Spring Auction on Monday (September 1): A very desirable 1989 Porsche 928 S4 Coupe; the iconic black and white Victorian number plate ‘928’; or ideally, both.
But while the carefully-maintained three-owner blue Porsche, with its 5.0 litre, 320HP (239kW) 32-valve V8 engine and four-speed automatic transmission has a guiding range of $14,495-$18,759, you might need to dig up to three times deeper to afford its matching number plate, with Shannons quoting a guiding range of $47,750-$56,277.
However Porsche enthusiasts shouldn’t feel bad. All six number plates in the auction are expected to sell for more than many of the cars they will ultimately be bolted to.
For example, West Melbourne residents could be more excited about displaying the Victorian black and white plate ‘3.003’ for around $20,464-$25,580 than owning one of three early-1970s Rolls-Royce cars in the auction that are being sold with no reserve price in the expected range from $12,790-$29,844.
Buyers may also choose to invest in the Victorian plates ’61.478’ (estimated selling range $8,526-$12,790) or ‘248.315’ ($5,968-$8,526) – both with no reserve selling price – rather than a very original 1951 Holden 48-215 sedan ($10,232-$15,348), a sporty 1968 MGB roadster ($8,526-$11,937), or a 1981 Jaguar XJ6 Series 3 sedan ($4,263-$6,821 with no price reserve).
Probably the only number plate in the auction that is likely to sell for less than the price of one of the 40 vehicles on offer is the Victorian Grand Prix plate ‘944.GP’, which Shannons are also selling with no reserve price and an estimate of $426-$852. Now if you had a Porsche 944…
Shannons are also offering four highly-sought-after restored and unrestored classic petrol pumps in Monday’s auction – all with no reserve price – and they are estimated to sell in the range from $852 to $5,968.
All vehicle and memorabilia lots in Monday’s auction are available for inspection from 9am-5pm this weekend at Shannons showroom, 321 Warrigal Road, Cheltenham.