When classic Porsche specialist Andy Prill got his hands on a 1957 Porsche 550A Spyder in August 2019, the highly sought-after vintage car — of which 40 were only ever made — had lived quite the life. 

American racecar driver Jack McAfee first owned the car, winning races from Phoenix to Palm Springs behind its wheel. The Porsche then passed through the hands of various American drivers who helped drive this 550A Spyder to over 25 wins in various races.

It later bounced around American collectors before becoming part of a South African car collection, before Japanese collector Hui Takahara snapped it up in 1993, later sending it to German Porsche specialists Freisinger Motorsport for an extensive restoration.

In 2018, the RM Sotheby's Monterey auction sold the 1957 Porsche 550A Spyder for $4,900,000. Now, at RM Sotheby's April 2026 Monaco auction, it’ll be on offer again, though looking a little different. 

Prill, the car’s current owner, spent the past six years restoring the car through a nuts-and-bolts overhaul, rebuilding the engine (which sits inside an original matching-number engine case, a rarity for a car this old) and reassembling the original gearbox, to make it, in Prill’s words, “box-fresh.”

He’s also held onto a vast amount of documentation, from programs for races the car was in to the original driver’s manual. 

Harvey Stanley, an RM Sotheby’s executive, has called this the “holy grail” of vintage Porsches, although the owner of the $14 million Porsche 917 K might disagree. 

Whatever you feel is the true “holy grail” of Porsches, there’s no denying the Porsche 550A Spyder is right up there as one of the best and rarest ever made. In its day, people called this thing the “Giant Killer,” as its lightweight build helped it regularly defeat larger-engined competitors.

Considering its credentials, it’s therefore surprising that Sotheby’s is estimating it to sell for only between $4,050,000 and $4,400,000. That’s less than it went for in 2018, prior to Prill’s painstaking restoration. If the Sotheby’s team has predicted correctly, then this ultra-rare Porsche is kinda a steal.

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