Janis Joplin's Porsche 356 breaks record
Most expensive – and psychedelic – Porsche ever sold fetches $2.3mWorld-famous psychedelic rocker Janis Joplin soared to fame in the late 1960s and now her name is making headlines again, but not via the usual sex, drugs and rock and roll channels.
A 1964 Porsche 356 C 1600 SC Cabriolet that Joplin bought in 1968 was tipped to attract between $US400,000 and $US600,000 at auction, but the bold 'art car' sold for $US1.7 million - around $2.3 million in local tender.
RM Sotheby’s held the auction and spruiked the Porsche as one of the first real "art cars" and naturally "one of the most famous and important Porsches of all time".
As such, the bidding was fierce and the car's value pushed the Porsche into the record books, becoming the most expensive Porsche ever sold.
Part of the allure for collectors was the 356's unique paint work -- a mural painted by her friend and roadie Dave Richards.
Dubbed "History of the Universe", it was the last car Joplin drove shortly before her death in 1970, after which it was found parked in the Landmark Motor Hotel in Hollywood where her body was discovered.
The car was then housed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio in the USA. Her siblings, Laura and Michael Joplin decided recently to sell the car.
Janis Joplin's bluesy rock voice won over millions of fans the world over and in her hit song 'Mercedes-Benz' she even waxed lyrical about cars.
"Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz. My friends all have Porsches, I must make amends."
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