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.”
Now it's headed to auction. Mecum plans to place it under the hammer at its auction in Kissimmee, Florida, running Jan. 7-9, 2025.
Mecum hasn’t provided details on the car though it's thought to have been owned by comedian Jerry Seinfeld at one point. The car is also known to retain its original flat-12 engine.
After the car's filming was done, it was sold to German racing driver Willi Kauhsen and later enjoyed a relatively successful motorsports career. Some of the events it competed in included 1,000-kilometer races in Buenos Aires (crashed), Brands Hatch (sixth), Monza (seventh), the Nürburgring (sixth), and Spa-Francorchamps (fourth).
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.
source: https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1092997_steve-mcqueen-s-porsche-917-from-le-mans-movie-up-for-sale
by Viknesh Vijayenthiran
http://www.boscheuropean.com
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