Janis Joplin’s 1964 Porsche 356 sells for $1.7 million

A 1964 Porsche 356 Cabriolet owned by famous singer and songwriter Janis Joplin was sold for a record-breaking $1.76 million at an auction held in New York City.

Joplin purchased the 356 from a used car lot in 1968 with the intention of using it as her daily driver.

“Janis drove everywhere, all around San Francisco and down to Los Angeles when she was recording there,” remembers her sister, Laura Joplin.

She wasted no time in asking a good friend named Dave Richards to customize the convertible with a colorful “History of the Universe” paint job with mountains, trees, birds, and other drawings. The paint job — which has been fully restored — earns the 356 the honor of being one of the very first art cars. After her death in 1970, the Porsche was shared by her siblings Laura and Michael until it was loaned to the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1995. It remained on display until earlier this year.

The $1.76 million price tag includes a 10% buyer’s premium slapped on by RM Sotheby’s, the auction house that sold the car. The figure is nonetheless astronomically higher than the pre-auction estimate, which was set at $400,000 – $600,000, and it makes Joplin’s Porsche the most expensive 356 ever sold at a public auction.