RM Sotheby's have announced this ex-Gulf JWA Porsche 917 K as the first headliner of the Anglo-Canadian flagship Monterey Sale in August. Originally raced and crashed at Le Mans in 1970 sporting a unique Gulf livery, it was later rebuilt with a Spyder and re-numbered. This was common practice at the time when chassis were regularly swapped out. The most recent custodian acquired 917-031 in Spyder form at auction back in 2010. It has now been fully restored to its Le Mans configuration and colours. The car can also be seen Steve McQueen's Le Mans movie. The pre-sale estimate is $16 - $18.5 million.
The announcement of this consignment came during the weekend when RM Sotheby's held their annual Amelia Island sale. This in-person sale had a turn-over of just over $42 million, which was topped by this spectacular Duesenberg J Murphy Disappearing Top Torpedo that found a new owner for $5.7 million.
Two days earlier, rival Bonhams held their particularly successful auction on the Florida island. Topping the charts for the British auctioneer was this Mercedes-Benz 500 K Spezial Roadster. Finished with several unique cues, this was only the sixth 500 K built and was later upgraded by the factory with a 540 K engine. Chassis 105136 has had a truly fascinating history as it was originally owned by the lawyer of perpetrators of the Reichstag fire and was then found during the early 1970s in a barn in Poland.

Enjoy the links:

1934 Mercedes-Benz 500 K Spezial Roadster (105136)

1970 Porsche 917 K (917-031)

1929 Duesenberg J Murphy Disappearing Top Torpedo Drophead Coupe (2199 J-414)