1956 Porsche RS Spyder sells for record $6m at Bonhams

One of the last known unrestored 1956 Porsche 550 RS Spyders has sold for a world record £4.9m ($6m).

It led Bonhams' Goodwood Revival sale on September 10.

Porsche 550 Spyder
The Porsche 550 Spyder is one of the rarest sports cars of the 1950s

It's one of 90 produced, making it one of the most exclusive sports cars of the 1950s.

Some of the biggest stars of the era were queuing up to get their hands on one.

James Dean was a particular fan - indeed he was driving his 550 Spyder (nicknamed "Little Bastard") at high speed when he fatally crashed in 1955.

Mark Osborne, vice president of motorcars at Bonhams, comments: "The 1956 Porsche 550RS Spyder offered is so original, that you could travel back in time 60 years and find it in much the same condition.

"It's exactly how a 550 would have looked, smelt and felt like when James Dean famously purchased his example back in 1955.

"Chassis number 550 0090 hasn't been thrashed around, it's been well looked after, and even won the FIVA award for originality at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2010 - the perfect Porsche.

"A real time warp, and likely the last one left in such excellent, original condition."  

Other top selling cars included a 1971 Ferrari Dino 246 GT Berlinetta, which made £299,420 ($396,560).

The model was designed for Formula 2 racing and the road car retained much of the original layout.

Few were sold as the car is constructed from aluminium, making it prohibitively expensive even in the rarefied world of Ferrari collecting.

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