At the RM Sotheby’s “Driven By Disruption” auto auction in New York on Thursday night, Janis Joplin’s colorful Porsche brought in $1.76 million. According to CNN, the iconic car, a pearl-white 1965 Porsche 365c 1600 Cabriolet with a multicolored Flower Power paint job, was predicted to fetch between $400,000 and $600,000.
In 1968, Big Brother and the Holding Company roadie Dave Richards painted the famous “History of the Universe” mural, which contains pictures of the band members among butterflies and jellyfish, and Joplin bought the Porsche used. The Porsche has spent the past 20 years on exhibit in Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Joplin owned the car until her passing in October 1970.
As her sister and biographer Laura stated in the auction description, “Janis drove everywhere, all over San Francisco and down to Los Angeles when she was recording there.” “Fans could see Janis’ automobile wherever she went. There was always at least one note behind the wipers when she parked it and came back.”
A 1962 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato was also offered in the “Driven By Disruption” auction, and it fetched $14.3 million at auction—the highest price ever paid for a British vehicle.
The recently released film Janis: Little Girl Blue by Amy J. Berg details the singer’s early years, rise to fame as a rock star, battle with heroin addiction, and artistic legacy. The movie includes interviews with Joplin’s family, friends, and bandmates in addition to narration by Cat Power’s Chan Marshall and appearances by Bob Weir, Clive Davis, Melissa Etheridge, D.A. Pennebaker, and Dick Cavett.
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The new owner of Janis Joplin’s psychedelic Porsche resides near Gull Lake.
You may recall the news reports from last December regarding the auction sale of Janis Joplin’s Psychedelic Porsche. If you see it being driven around the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek area, don’t be shocked. Gull Lake is where the new owner resides. According to sources, she purchased it as a gift for her own 60th birthday.
The 1964 Porsche 356 that was previously owned by the rock singer Janis Joplin fetched a record-breaking $1.76 million at auction. It was anticipated that the car will sell for between $400,000 and $600,000.
According to CNN, Joplin paid $3500 for the Porsche in 1968. She commissioned a mural that featured landscapes, birds, butterflies, floating eyes, mushrooms, and skull-like faces painted from bumper to bumper and door to door. The automobile was frequently seen being driven by Joplin around San Francisco. According to rumors, admirers would slip messages for her under the windshield wipers.
Oh God, please don’t let me buy Janis Joplin’s Porsche.
Her iconic Porsche would travel a long and winding route before Joplin passed away in 1970. According to American Blues Scene, the car was first given to the late star’s manager, Albert Grossman, who used it as “a courtesy car.” The car was given to Joplin’s siblings by Grossman in 1975 since it was in bad condition. Michael, her brother, restored the engine and took down the iconic decor, turning it back to gray. But the Joplins had a change of heart and brought back the renowned paint job. The Porsche was housed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum for about 20 years before Joplin’s family took possession of it in 2015 and sold it at auction. A record-breaking $1.76 million was paid for it.
The rock star Janis Joplin previously had a 1964 Porsche 356, which fetched $1.76 million at auction on Thursday night.
It was anticipated that the car will sell for between $400,000 and $600,000. A 10% commission for the auction house RM Sotheby’s is included in the transaction price.
In 1968, Joplin purchased the Porsche. She commissioned a mural that featured landscapes, birds, butterflies, floating eyes, mushrooms, and skull-like faces painted from bumper to bumper and door to door.
Typically, celebrity ownership doesn’t increase a car’s value significantly. However, this one sold for far more than it normally would have. In actuality, this was the highest amount ever paid at auction for a Porsche 356.
According to Hagerty Insurance, which protects classic automobiles, the previous record was $1.5 million, paid for a 1956 Porsche 356A GS Carrera Speedster in August 2013. That extremely rare and sought-after sports automobile had a racing background, was said to have only 20,000 kilometers on it, and had undergone a painstaking restoration. The highest auction price for a 1964 Porsche 356 SC Cabriolet, like Joplin’s, was $341,000 prior to this sale, a record achieved in May of last year.
These records were beaten by Joplin’s automobile since it was so closely associated with her. She put a lot of miles on it. Her messages from admirers were hidden under the windshield wipers.
Because the Porsche was parked in the garage on the day she passed away in 1970 at the age of 27, in a Hollywood hotel, everyone knew where to look for her.
Her siblings Michael and Laura Joplin received ownership of the vehicle, and they shared it for roughly 30 years. They had it painted over in light gray when the paint eventually began to flake.
On the underside of the gasoline filler door, a monstrous face that was originally part of the design was left unfinished.
Later, they had additional artists reconstruct the original artwork using original pictures. But this time, they utilized long-lasting paint.
The 95-horsepower sports automobile owned by Joplin is still in excellent operational condition today. It delivered all the sounds, joy, and direct feel of a superb classic Porsche during a trip through a New Jersey park.
The Porsche was lent by Michael and Laura Joplin to the Cleveland Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in 1995. For the past 20 years, it has largely stayed there.
The Joplins intend to donate the auction’s proceeds to charitable causes in Janis’ honor.
The psychedelic Porsche of Janis Joplin
For $3,500, Joplin purchased a secondhand 1965 Porsche 356c with white paint in 1968. It didn’t take her long to want to change things up, so she asked one of her roadies, Dave Roberts, to completely refinish the car’s paint. Joplin’s car took about a month to finish, but when it was, it was a true masterpiece. The finished painting, which Roberts dubbed “the history of the cosmos,” immediately caught people’s attention for its vibrant design.
Janis used the car as her daily driver since she loved it so much, and as a result, it gained a lot of notoriety in the San Francisco, California, region. Every time she traveled anywhere, she’d find messages and notes left beneath her windshield wipers by her supporters who knew it was her car. Given how well-known the car was, it came as a surprise when someone attempted to steal it in 1969 and tried to disguise it by covering the kaleidoscopic hues with paint. Unfortunately, before they could finish painting the car, the police found it.
Amazingly, they were able to save the original artwork by removing the paint from the clear coat with a little assistance from a body shop. The vehicle was used by Janis Joplin’s manager Albert Grossman as a courtesy vehicle after her passing in 1970. After some time, the car started to have cosmetic and mechanical problems, so Janis’s brother Michael Joplin took it. He was able to return this car to its original state while also giving it a nice gray paint job.
The rock star’s Porsche wasn’t fully restored until the 1990s, thanks to Michael and Laura Joplin, the rock star’s siblings. To accurately recreate the original artwork, they hired the skillful artists Jana Mitchell and Amber Owen, and they completed the task to a flawless standard. The vehicle was lent to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in 1995 so that everyone could view it in person. However, the “Driven by Disruption” sale in New York City in 2015 saw the sale of Janis Joplin’s psychedelic Porsche. It was the highest selling Porsche 356 at a public auction, selling for an astounding $1.76 million.
Although the purchaser was anonymous, it is believed that a 60-year-old woman received the car as a birthday gift.
It’s amazing that this car in immaculate shape now belongs to some lucky fan as a tribute to Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, who enjoyed enormous popularity over the years. It’ll be handled carefully, I’m sure of it!
Have another piece of my heart, sweetie; if it makes you feel wonderful, you have it.
Till, uh, death do them part, they will be together through thick and thin, wind and weather, highs and lows, painful separations (cry baby, cry baby, cry baby), and happy reunions (honey, welcome back home). The turbulent journey of Janis Lyn Joplin’s life comes to an abrupt end in 1970 there in Los Angeles at the Landmark Hotel.
But the voyage of her Porsche is far from over. Another driven individual will now be behind the wheel after three paint jobs, several owners, twenty years in a museum, and an auction at Sotheby’s.
Return of Janis Joplin’s Porsche to Gilmore Automobile Museum
For a June 4 event, Janis Joplin’s Porsche will return to the Gilmore Car Museum.
MI — HICKORY CORNERS Next weekend, the 1965 Porsche 356 owned by rock icon Janis Joplin will be brought back to the Gilmore Car Museum.
The vehicle will be present at the Hickory Corners museum on Sunday, June 4, for the 31st annual Classic Car Club of America Experience.
Clive Cussler, a best-selling author and well-known vehicle collector, was supposed to serve as the event’s grand marshal, but he won’t be able to go because of some health difficulties. His place will be taken by Joplin’s automobile.
According to a press release from the Gilmore Car Museum, the auto exhibition will also showcase “some of the world’s most spectacular motor cars, such the type that is frequently portrayed in Cussler’s novels.” They consist of:
- The grill of the 1938 Delahaye 135 MS Tear Drop Coupe, which was built for the 1938 Paris Auto Show, was painted in the national colors of France.
- The youngest daughter of John D. Rockefeller, widely regarded as the richest person in contemporary history, had a 1941 Packard 160 Limo Convertible made especially for her.
- The most successful Jaguar XK 120 to ever compete in Argentina was raced in 1949.
According to the Gilmore Car Museum, Joplin purchased the Porsche 356 in 1968 and had one of her band’s roadies, Dave Roberts, give it a psychedelic makeover.
According to the news release from the Gilmore Car Museum, it took him months to do the paint job that he gave the name “The History of the Universe.” “As Joplin used the automobile as his daily driver, it rose to become one of the most recognizable cars in the San Francisco region. There would frequently be at least one note beneath the wipers with encouragement from admirers, such as “Keep on Rockin,” when she went to park it and came back.”
After Joplin passed away in 1970, her manager utilized her car, which eventually became unusable. The car was given a thorough restoration by the Joplin family, and in 2015 it was auctioned off for an estimated $1.76 million. The car’s unidentified owner has agreed to have it returned for the exhibit on June 4 after it was temporarily on show as part of the car museum’s sports car exhibit.
The cost of attending the exhibition, which includes access to the historic grounds and approximately 400 vehicles of the Gilmore Car Museum, is $12 per person. Under-11s are not charged.
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What became to the Porsche 356 owned by Janis Joplin?
The most expensive Porsche 356 ever sold at auction was Janis Joplin’s 1964 Porsche.
According to CNNMoney, the car, which was painted bumper to bumper with psychedelic imagery by Joplin’s friend Dave Richards, fetched $1.76 million at an auction on Thursday night, more than three times what Sotheby’s had estimated.
In general, celebrity ownership doesn’t do much to increase a car’s value, but Joplin’s Porsche was an exception because the counterculture icon drove the automobile to the point that it became associated with her name. In a brief statement posted on the Sotheby’s website, Janis Joplin’s sister and biographer Laura Joplin stated that Joplin “drove everywhere, all through San Francisco and down to Los Angeles when she was recording there.” “Fans could see Janis’ automobile wherever she went. There was always at least one note behind the wipers when she parked it and came back.”
Despite the fact that Joplin purchased the Porsche used almost 50 years ago, the paint job has since been repaired, and it is in good driving condition. After Joplin passed away, Michael and Laura Joplin received the automobile as her inheritance. According to CNNMoney, they are currently selling it to raise money for charitable organizations in Joplin’s honor.