- One of the Porsche 917s used for the movie “Le Mans” is headed to auction
- The car bears chassis number 022 and was owned by Steve McQueen
- The car crosses the auction block in Kissimmee, Florida on Jan. 18
The 1971 movie “Le Mans” is essential viewing for anyone with gasoline in their veins. It’s a turgid, plot-less nightmare for everyone else, but if there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that Steve McQueen, the Tag Heuer Monaco watch he wears, and the Porsche 917 he drives are all effortlessly cool.
McQueen and his crew had three 917s for filming, each example being the 917K short-tail version finished in the famous Gulf Oil livery. The cars bore chassis numbers 013, 022, and 024. Additional 917s also featured in the film, though these were examples that were filmed while they raced in the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans and the footage used for the movie.
Chassis number 022 was the car purchased from Porsche by Steve McQueen’s Solar Productions, and driven the most by McQueen in front of the camera. It also features the actor’s signature on the door and a note from him that reads, “Finished – Thanks for staying together.” However, the car has been previously resprayed on more than one occasion.
Now it’s headed to auction. Mecum plans to place it under the hammer on Jan. 18 at its auction in Kissimmee, Florida.
Porsche 917 bearing chassis no. 022 – Photo via Mecum
The car’s current owner is celebrity Porsche collector Jerry Seinfeld. He purchased the car in 2001, and it has had only a handful of owners before him. The car retains its original 4.5-liter flat-12 engine, which produces 580 hp and is paired with a 4-speed manual transmission.
After the car’s filming was completed, it was sold to Reinhold Joest of Team Auto Usdau and went on to have a relatively successful motorsports career. Drivers such as Willi Kauhsen, Angel Monguzzi, and Jo Siffert took turns behind the wheel. Some of the events it competed in included 1,000-kilometer races at Buenos Aires (where it crashed), Brands Hatch (sixth place), Monza (seventh), the Nürburgring (sixth), and Spa-Francorchamps (fourth).
Porsche 917 bearing chassis no. 022 – Photo via Mecum
According to the listing, Porsche factory driver Brian Redman acquired the car in 1975. He sold it to Le Mans-winning Porsche 917K driver Richard Attwood in 1977. Attwood changed the car’s livery to the red and white scheme he had raced to victory at the 1970 Le Mans and continued to use the car in European historic racing events before selling it in 2000.
The buyer was Porsche collector Frank Gallogly, though he kept the car for only one year before selling it to Seinfeld.
Porsche 917 bearing chassis no. 022 – Photo via Mecum
Quite aside from the fact the 917 is already a priceless racer and the Gulf livery is among the most iconic in racing, the McQueen association means that someone, somewhere will pay a good amount of money for it, after having battled off several other bidders each offering other enormous sums for the privilege of ownership, of course. There’s no estimate, but the 917 bearing chassis number 024 used during filming sold in 2017 for $14 million. Considering chassis number 022 is the hero car of the film and features McQueen’s signature, it will likely go for much more.
As McQueen is no longer with us to chat, and the Porsche is expected to fetch a comfortable eight-figure sum, if you want a dose of Le Mans cool, you’ll have to scrape together a few thousand bucks for a Monaco watch. Or, come to think of it, a few hundred for a replica Gulf leather jacket.
