VIN: Janis Joplin's Porsche 356 C 1600 SC Cabriolet chassis 160371

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History of chassis 160371

Chassis 160371 was a Porsche 356 C built in 1964 and configured with Cabriolet coachwork by Karosserie Reutter. The car was ordered with the ultimate (non Carrera) ‘SC’ engine, Dolphin Grey paint, black upholstery and a matching black canvas roof.

When it was four years old, chassis 160371 was put up for sale at the Estes Zipper Motor Company on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. It was purchased by Janis Joplin, lead singer of the San Francisco psychedelic rock band, Big Brother and the Holding Company. In December 1968, the band’s second album (and Joplin’s first major studio recording) reached number one on the Billboard 200 album chart and spent eight weeks in the top position.

Joplin paid $3500 for the grey Porsche and then spent another $500 when she commissioned her roadie and part-time artist, Dave Richards, to paint the car for her.

Richards initially gave 160371 a base coat of candy apple red paint, upon which he created the work History of the Universe.

Richards included Joplin’s astrological sign (Capricorn), portraits of her fellow band members, the green valleys of Northern California and The Eye of God. Every inch of the bodywork was covered and then a lacquered clear coat was applied over the top.

Joplin used the 356 as her daily driver and the two subsequently became a familiar site around the streets of the Bay Area. One night, the Porsche was stolen and given a quick blow over with a rattle can of grey primer. Fortunately, this was easily removed when the car was recovered a short time later.

By early 1969, Joplin had split from Big Brother and the Holding Company to go solo. She formed a new backup group, The Kozmic Blues Band, composed mostly of session musicians.

Around this time, Joplin’s addition to heroin and alcohol began to spiral out of control. Nevertheless, she continued to write and perform critically acclaimed and commercially successful new material.

Joplin’s Porsche was parked outside the Hollywood hotel she was staying at the night of her death from a heroin overdose on October 4th 1970. She was aged just 27. Her attorney commandeered the car away from the ensuing press spectacle that followed. It was returned to the Joplin family and then spent some time with Joplin’s manager, Albert Grossman, in New York.

In 1973, chassis 160371 was retrieved by Joplin’s brother, Michael, and her sister, Laura. It was taken to Michael’s home in Ohio and later restored to its original Dolphin Grey finish.

However, in the early 1990s, the original Dave Richards artwork was reinstated by Jana Mitchell and Amber Owen of the Denver Center Theater Company. They worked from a mass of period photos and even went so far as to recreate the original brush strokes. The restoration was completed in 1995.

Chassis 160371 was retained by the Joplin family until December 2015, at which point it was sold by RM Sotheby’s in New York for $1.76m.

Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: unattributed