√Hot for Teacher – Eddie Van Halen’s Porsche GT3 RS sells at auction

The customised road racer features a number of personalisation details linked to the music legend but still sold for a ‘reasonable’ price

“Ain’t nothin’ like it, her shiny machine, got the feel for the wheel, keep the moving parts clean”

Legendary rock guitarist, songwriter and ‘hair metal’ pioneer, Eddie Van Halen was also a huge car fan. So much so that the lyrics to the 1983 song ‘Panama‘ are not about the Central American country, but an Opel Kadett belonging to Van Halen’s lead singer David Lee Roth.

There’s even a section in the middle where Eddie parked his own Lamborghini Miura S in the studio to record it revving for the song.

In an interview with Road and Track magazine in 2016, Eddie spoke of his enjoyment of driving fast on a racetrack, making particular mention of his newest ‘toy’, a 2016 Porsche 991 911 GT3 RS. He owned the car until July 2020, selling it with over 24,000km (15,188 miles) on the odometer.

Under his ownership, Van Halen displayed the California numberplate “5150B”, a reference to the 1986 Van Halen album 5150 (fifty-one-fifty).

With now just over 16,000 miles (26,000km) on the clock, the GT3 was again offered for sale by Mecum Auctions in the US this weekend and has sold for US$258,500, approximately A$390,000.

While that is still a lot of money, it’s actually the same price point you would be at for a 991 GT3 RS without the celebrity provenance, so we’re going to say it was a bit of a bargain!

The Porsche, finished in GT Silver over black, features customised kick-panels embossed with the Van Halen ‘VH’ logo, and is still paired to Eddie Van Halen’s iPhone through the Porsche PCM infotainment system. Paperwork supplied with the car includes all the original records of EVH’s ownership too.

The car is very well specified, with GT Silver contrast stitching in the cabin, yellow roll cage and brake callipers, and true to form for any rock star, a six-disc CD changer.