‘Nazi Porsche’ worth £16million fails to sell after bids start at the wrong price

A PORSCHE built in Nazi Germany has failed to sell after bids started at the wrong price.

Car collectors were left stunned over the weekend at the California auction when bids started at $30million (£24.7 million), almost double the listed reserve price.

The rare Porsche Type 64 was built by Ferdinand Porsche in 1939 as a commission for the National Socialist Motors Corps, a paramilitary organisation of the Nazi Party.

It was then meant to win a Berlin-to-Rome race planned to celebrate the Pact of Steel between Nazi Germany and Italy.

The model was expected to sell for a whopping $20million (£16.4million), but when bids opened the auctioneer said it would start at $30million (£24.7million)

And offers quickly escalated to $70million (£57.8million), with many attendees yelling and laughing.

Despite the significant interest, the auctioneer said he had meant to say $13million at the start and $17million.

Many bidders were left upset about the incident and the controversial motor was left unsold.

Johnny Shaughnessy, a collector who was in the room, said: "What a joke. They just lost so much credibility."

One buyer said "a massive f*** up", while another said "what a scam".

A Sotheby's spokeswoman said to Bloomberg: "Despite interest from discerning collectors, we were unable to reach common ground between seller and buyer on the night.

"As bidding opened on the Type 64, increments were mistakenly overheard and displayed on the screen, causing unfortunate confusion in the room.

"This was the result of a totally inadvertent and unintentional mistake."

They also said it was an "unfortunate misunderstanding amplified by the excitement in the room."

An iconic James Bond Aston Martin DB5 sold for a record £5.2million at auction last week.

Another movie motor, driven by Steve McQueen in thriller Bullitt, is expected to sell for a whopping £1.6million when it goes under the hammer.