- A Porsche 917 used for filming of “Le Mans” was passed in at auction despite a $25 million bid
- The car is one of three 917s used for filming and the example owned by Steve McQueen
- The car’s current owner is celebrity Porsche collector Jerry Seinfeld
Porsche more than half a century ago unveiled a car that remains one of the fastest and most successful racing cars ever built.
The car is the legendary Porsche 917 endurance racer, and its history is filled with major titles and, of course, a starring role in the 1971 cult classic film “Le Mans,” where it was piloted by Steve McQueen.
Three separate 917 examples were used for filming, with the movie also incorporating additional footage of 917s competing in the actual 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Of the three official film cars—bearing chassis numbers 013, 022, and 024—the 022 car was purchased by Steve McQueen’s Solar Productions from Porsche and was driven most frequently by McQueen in front of the camera.
The car has been owned by celebrity Porsche collector Jerry Seinfeld since 2001, and he just rejected a $25 million bid for it after putting it up for sale at a Mecum auction on Jan. 18 in Kissimmee, Florida. Bidding started at $15 million and quickly climbed to $21 million, though the climb to $25 million was much slower. The auctioneer then spent an agonizing three minutes attempting to drive the bids higher before ultimately deciding to pass in the sale.
The $25 million bid is still a record for a Porsche 917, far surpassing the $14 million sale of the 024 car at auction in 2017. The 022 car, in addition to being the hero car during filming, was personally signed on its exterior by McQueen, although the car has been repainted in liveries other than the original Gulf Oil livery over the years.
After its time in the film, the car—retaining its original 4.5-liter flat-12 engine rated at approximately 580 hp—was sold to Reinhold Joest of Team Auto Usdau. It went on to enjoy a relatively successful motorsports career, with drivers such as Willi Kauhsen, Angel Monguzzi, and Jo Siffert taking 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 in at the 1970 Le Mans and continued to use the car in European historic racing events before selling it in 2000. The buyer in 2000 was Porsche collector Frank Gallogly, though he kept the car for only one year before selling it to Seinfeld, reportedly for a price well below $2 million.
Other notable sales at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction included a $7 million bid for a 1966 Ford GT40 Mk 1 road car, $2.25 million for a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88, and $1.9 million for a 2023 Ford GT Mk IV track car.