Normally there is a mad rush to buy items owned by celebrities whether they are clothes, glasses, paintings or even hairbrushes. So when it was announced that a Porsche once owned by Bill Gates was slated to go under the hammer, celebrity item junkies have stood up to be the proud owners of “The Car.”
Gates had bought this Porsche 911 in the year 1979 and then sold it. It is not clear who he sold it too. However, this once prized possession of the co-founder of Microsoft has landed up in Austria and will be auctioned off on June 6, 2012. Incidentally, Gates purchased the Porsche just after he founded Microsoft along with his partner Paul Allen. Gates is believed to have had a fascination for high speed sport cars and bought this car in New Mexico. Gates later shifted to Seattle in Washington State where Microsoft is presently headquartered.
It is rumored that Gates got three speeding tickets in the night for driving much faster than the authorized speed limit. Later Gates was arrested for speeding and Paul Allen had to bail him out. As Microsoft became world leaders in Operating Systems software and the cash registers started continuously ringing, Gates lost interest in the Porsche and sold it in the year 1990 to some unknown buyer in Austria. The car has since remained registered in Austria, which is now part of the European Union. The car has features which were meant only for consumers in the United States.
The value of the starting price of the Porsche 911 will start at an undisclosed beginning bid amount. Up- gradation costs, maintenance costs and other expenses incurred will be factored in when the minimum starting bid is revealed. According to the details of the car revealed by the auctioneers, the car was upgraded from its original engine to a 3.3 liter air-cooled one and has a fresh new coat of paint. The new paint job has retained the original color of the Porsche 911. It is rumored that the Porsche 911, which is a world class sports car,bidding will start at 15,000 Euros, roughly $21,000. According to auctioneers the car may fetch a price of 50,000 Euros, which is equal to $71,000.
