Back in September, the internet’s collective jaw smashed through the floor and hit the water table. A 2014 Porsche Cayenne with the six-speed manual transmission sold on Cars & Bids for an unhinged $125,500. Not only was this a new record for a stick-shift second-generation Cayenne, it was a new record for a stick-shift Cayenne full stop.
The hammer price heard ’round the world left people wondering where the manual Cayenne market was really going. After all, this wasn’t a delivery mileage example, it wasn’t a paint-to-sample car, and it wasn’t even a first-generation GTS or Transsyberia with the V8. Well, it’s taken another three months, but we have an answer. Another manual 958 Cayenne just sold on Cars & Bids, and it’s quite comparable to the record-setting example.
The two Cayennes in question are both 2014 models, both painted Jet Green Metallic, and both have spent some time in cold climates. The latest stick-shift Cayenne to go under the hammer does have an extra 17,400 miles on the clock compared to the record-setting example, and it isn’t as well-equipped. No panoramic sunroof, no 14-way ventilated front seats, no adaptive dampers, no power rear sunshades, you know the drill.
The photos of this latest example aren’t exactly great, and there’s a phone mount stuck to the leather dashboard, so I had a pretty good feeling it wouldn’t come anywhere near the price of the record-setting example. The delta might even be big enough to buy a lot of 911, and you won’t be worrying about creature comforts for rear seat passengers when something like a 996 Turbo is plastering your face into an Aphex Twin grin.
Indeed, the $125,500 stick-shift Cayenne from earlier this year was a fluke. No other stick-shift 958 has transacted anywhere near that price, and there are arguably more desirable row-your-own Porsche SUVs out there. For instance, Porsche only made three manual Cayenne S Transsyberia editions for the North American market, featuring a brace of off-road equipment and the GTS’ 405-horsepower 4.8-liter V8. The last stick-shift Transsyberia sold for $70,500 on Bring A Trailer back in 2022, just after the peak of the COVID bull rush. Granted, Cayennes have seen more widespread appreciation over the past few years, but that’s the yardstick. The rarest North American-market stick-shift Cayenne.
In a similar vein, the 957 Cayenne GTS with the six-speed manual is also a more desirable car than a manual V6 958. With 405 horsepower, a raucous exhaust, sport suspension, unique seats, and a brace of cosmetic touches, it’s a more road-focused Cayenne with plenty of power and a wicked soundtrack. The record for a 957 GTS was set in 2021 by a 30,000-mile example that sold for $91,500 on Bring A Trailer, but several well-kept low-mileage examples have transacted in the $60,000 range. Average-mileage manual Cayenne GTS models generally go for between $30,000 and $40,000, and given their desirability over a later 958 V6 model, that’s about where the ceiling for a low-mileage manual 958 Cayenne should be.
Indeed, if we take a look back at the record-setting 958, it was clearly a two-party bidding war from roughly $60,000 onward, with neither party willing to back down until things got truly extreme. Sure, this could be one of the nicest examples on the planet, but never discount the human factor when looking at auction values. It only takes two to tango all night long.
A 958 Cayenne with the 3.6-liter VR6 is a good family car, provided you’re willing to put up with fragile exhaust flex joints and keep an eye on the transfer case, but a stick-shift example isn’t a six-figure experience relative to other family SUVs. For the sort of money commanded by the record-setting car, you could get a Dodge Durango Hellcat or a gently used Alpina XB7 or a gently used Cayenne Turbo S or a Lucid Gravity, all of which offer more performance than a decade-plus-old family hauler with a Volkswagen engine.
However, at somewhere between $20,000 and $40,000, a stick-shift second-generation Cayenne becomes a tempting alternative to a new RAV4. Sure, you’re sacrificing fuel economy and a warranty, but you’re getting something engaging, unique, and comfortable. At the end of the day, isn’t the ultimate reason to buy a car not potential appreciation or social climbing, but simply because you like it?
Well, a couple of bidders ended up liking this manual Cayenne a whole lot. With less than an hour to go, the high bid stood at $36,250. This Cayenne was definitely crossing the $40,000 mark, but even I didn’t expect what happened next. The $45,000 mark fell. Then the $50,000 mark. Then the $60,000 mark. After some intense trash-talking by one bidder, the thing ended up selling for $70,000. Yeah, $70,000 for a decade-old V6 family SUV. From where I’m sitting, it’s not a $70,000 driving experience, but it might be to someone.
That hammer price of $70,000 is simultaneously an insane amount of money and $55,500 less than the record, but here’s the interesting part: The two bidders in it until the very end didn’t bid on the record-setting Cayenne from September. There’s a real market for these things that’s willing to pay serious money for them. But you know what they say: One’s a fluke, two’s a coincidence, three’s a pattern. If a third comparable stick-shift Cayenne sells for mad money, the rulebook will have been rewritten, and I’ll be telling you all about it when the next hammer drops.
Top graphic image: Cars & Bids
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