This Unfinished, Ultra-Rare Porsche 911 GT2 R Could Fetch Nearly $1 Million at Auction

A 1997 Porsche 911 GT2 R—one of just 10 examples made that year—is heading for auction and could fetch as much as $800,000, according to estimates. Just one problem: It isn’t a complete car anymore.

René Snel, a Dutch driver who crashed the white 911 during a 1999 race, was the car’s first owner. The Porsche was later rebuilt and began racing again in 2001 in club-level events, being driven on tracks including Monza, Hockenheim, and the Nürburgring. A decade later, the 911 GT2 R was sold to a new buyer, who rebuilt it again, including the chassis. That 2017 restoration was never completed, though, even after €20,885, or around $23,000, was spent.

Now, RM Sotheby’s is auctioning off the Porsche on May 22 in Milan.

“Please note: the car is being sold on its production number and without a chassis number, with no claims to its previous identity. The Porsche is also fitted with an engine of unknown type and origin,” the auction house’s listing says. “For a breakdown of what is required to complete the Porsche, please speak to an RM Sotheby’s specialist. When built to period specification by a new custodian, this GT2 R would be ripe to contest popular young-timer historic endurance race series such as Masters Endurance Legends and Peter Auto’s Endurance Racing Legends.”

RM Sotheby’s thinks the car will sell for between €500,000 and €700,000, or $550,000 and $800,000. Pictures of the interior reveal stripped-out innards, with no instrument gauges and exposed wires, though it includes a steering wheel. The sale will also include an extra set of wheels and various other parts like body panels, according to the auction house.

The 1997 Porsche 911 GT2 R is a job, in other words, for a professional Porsche restoration shop, or perhaps an enterprising amateur. To protect resale value down the line, though, most buyers will likely opt for a credentialed Porsche expert. This model also has real racing and ownership lineage, and it’s an example of a racing 911 whose looks have held up well over the years, which perhaps explains why RM Sotheby’s expects high six-figures, if not seven-figures. Not a job for a shadetree mechanic, then—unless, perhaps, the shade, the tree, and the mechanic are in Stuttgart.

Click here for more photos of the Porsche 911 GT2 R.

Credit: robbreport.com