A rare vintage car some call the 'world's first Porsche' could go for $20 million at auction - but the carmaker wishes it wasn't being sold at all

• The 1939 Porsche Type 64 is set to fetch at least $20 million at the Monterey Car Auction in Monterey, California on Saturday.
• However, the carmaker says the Type 64 isn't actually a real Porsche.
• When the founder of the company Ferdinand Porsche first made the car, it was intended to be sold as sportier version of the Volkswagen Beetle. Porsche the car company did not start up until 1948.
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The "world's first Porsche" is up for auction this weekend and is estimated to fetch more than $20 million.

However, the carmaker says its not a Porsche at all.

RM Sotheby's, the company handling the auction of the legendary "Porsche", states that it's the "antecedent of Porsche's historical evolution" and the "oldest car to ever wear Porsche's iconic wide-font script badge," making a careful distinction to not actually call the car a Porsche.

"The Type 64 is neither the very first Porsche ever nor the very first Porsche that bears the letters Porsche on it," Porsche Museum spokesperson Astrid Böttinger wrote in an email statement.

The confusion lies in the history of founder Ferdinand Porsche and his involvement with Volkswagen. When Ferry Porsche, son of Ferdinand Porsche, sold his Type 64, it was labeled a "Volkswagen Sport" in the contract.

"The Type 64 represents where Porsche come from, Porsche's DNA," wrote Böttinger.