Le Mans | Steve McQueen’s iconic Porsche 917K up for auction

After its unprecedented reveal to a stunned crowd at the 2024 Mecum Monterey auction, Steve McQueen’s Porsche 917K, the film’s “Hero Car,” “Le Mans” from 1971 and one of the most recognizable race cars in all of history, will be auctioned in January 2025 by Mecum Auctions at The World’s Largest Collector Car Auction in Kissimmee, Florida.

This icon of cinema and especially of racing is without doubt one of the most historically and culturally significant cars ever to be put up for auction.

Famous movie cars owe their fame more to the big screen than to their technical pedigree or their eye-catching design.

However, there is one exceptional case where movie star power converges with high-end automotive engineering.

Steve McQueen’s Porsche 917K, the main protagonist of the film “Le Mans” of 1971, is unmistakably an exceptional case. It is not only a cinema icon purchased new by the famous actor, but also a world-class racing car.

Unlike other cars used for film purposes, McQueen’s Porsche 917K has made the seamless transition from the set to the highest echelons of world endurance racing, where it has achieved numerous victories.

This illustrious 917, with a full and well-known ownership history, has been owned by legendary Porsche drivers after previously being purchased by McQueen himself.

The announcement of the car’s upcoming offering at the 2025 Kissimmee Auction, which will take place January 7-19, was made at the 2024 Mecum Monterey. Fresh from a meticulous restoration, McQueen’s Porsche was presented in its 1970 specifications, as seen in the 1971 film “Le Mans” and driven by Steve himself.

Other vehicles on display in Monterey that will be auctioned at The World’s Largest Collector Car Auction include the famous Essex Wire Cobra, a 1965 Shelby 427 Competition Cobra that is arguably the winningest Cobra of all time, the 1976 Porsche 934 that was driven to victory in the Group 4 class at the 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the 1983 Porsche 935/84 that Bob Akin drove to a fifth-place finish in the 1985 24 Hours of Daytona.

These include the 1932 Ford Tommy Foster Roadster that won Most Outstanding Car at the 1953 Detroit Autorama, the 1966 Lola T90 Ford Indy Car driven by Jackie Stewart to 6th place in the 1966 Indianapolis 500, and a 1930 Ruxton Model C Roadster, an AACA and CCCA honoree, one of only seven Baker-Raulang-bodied roadsters in existence.

Steve McQueen

Photo by: Steve McQueen