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Bill Gates' first Porsche now up for bid

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Khatir Soltani
The first-ever Porsche owned by Bill Gates, a 1979 911 Turbo that he purchased a few years after founding Microsoft with Paul Allen, is now up for bid in Austria.

Sources say that Gates liked to go on high-speed excursions with his Porsche on the desert roads surrounding Albuquerque, NM before he and Allen moved Microsoft to the Seattle area.

1979 Porsche 911 Turbo Bill Gates
Photo: Dorotheum

Allen even had to bail him out of jail after one midnight escapade where Gates received three speeding tickets, including two from the same cop who was trailing him.

Registration slips still with the Porsche indicate that Gates held on to it at least through 1990. The car eventually wound up in Austria where its current owner repainted it in its original metallic turquoise.

Consigned with Dorotheum, the prized 911 Turbo carries a pre-auction estimate of about $55,500 to $71,000. We'll know its exact value on June 6th.


Source: Hemmings
Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
Automotive expert
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