This Bill Gates Porsche 911 Turbo story has been doing the Internet rounds for a couple of days, but some of you may not have seen it. It is definitely worth following!
Bill Gates’ 1979 930 is for sale on an Austrian auction site. The car has apparently covered 89,000 miles, but was restored in 2011, with fresh paint and an engine rebuild paid for by the current owner, a year after it was imported to Austria.
As a ’79, it is of course a 3.3-litre, with the 4-speed transmission. Though it seems in good shape, any prospective buyers would be well advised to have a closer inspection. Early 930s can need more than engine rebuilds at this stage and it did live in Seattle: rain capital of the USA.
One thing you can be sure of is a decent history: Bill is not short of a bob or too. With the best 930s now being offered (perhaps slightly optimistically) at close to £50k in the UK – a LHD car should be expected to fetch more. Add in the kudos of Bill’s original Bill of Sale and who knows what it might fetch.
I’ve driven plenty of 4-speed 930s in the UK, Europe and the USA. Even in the best condition, they can be difficult to get excited about on a twisty mountain road. I don’t think that this car would be worth fortunes to me, but then I’ve been a fan of the 3-litre normally aspirated 911s and a Steve Jobs/Apple Mac user for many years!
What do you think it will sell for? Add your views in the comments. This story came in from Matthew (thanks Matt): email me with other interesting stuff you might see. We are always looking for interesting feature cars. Follow Ferdinand to keep in touch with all the Porsche stories we share online.
JdG,
Yes, $79 thousand seems opptimistic. Five years ago a friend picked up an excellent condition ’87 turbo with 65k miles for $35 thousand. The market surely has risen since then. However, unless the owner can prove the idea for the Windows OS was hatched in this car I don’t think the Bill Gates connection will be enough to bring the asking price.
e
Mate, the £50k is for a 930 on sale in the UK. This will definitely do more than that.
JdG,
Has the U.S. market risen to match the U.K.?
e
This is in the European market which is ahead of the UK: bigger pool of LHD buyers. I doubt the US prices are up to speed as still tons of 911s coming back to Germany from America.
Was Gates the original owner? The documents above appear to be from 1989-1990.
Good spot, Craig. According to the auction spec, yes he had it from new. Maybe that is all they have in terms of ownership papers.
Quite often, the names have only owned this stuff for a few months, so him having it ten years is pretty good. If it is correct that he owned it from new.