There aren't many cars in the world as cool as Janis Joplin's Porsche. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame reports that she paid about $3500 for it in 1968. It was white when she bought it, but her friend Dave Richards made it a work of art.
Howard Kramer of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
Whenever she parked it, fans would leave notes under the wipers. Once while Joplin was at a gig, the car was stolen. The thief spray-painted it gray, but when it was returned, Joplin was able to find an auto shop that was able to recover the psychedelic finish. A few months after her death, the family gave the car to her former manager. Most of the engine and the body parts are original.
The car is here in North Carolina, as a part of the blockbuster exhibit Porsche by Design: Seducing Speed.
The exhibit was to close in January, but has been extended to February 2.
And this just in: Gearheads will be able to look under hoods of the cars on the weekend of January 24.
More about the car known as a rolling sculpture:
And, so, she may have sung about her friends driving Porsches, but she indeed drove one herself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qev-i9-VKlY
