Thursday 19 May 2011

McQueen's Le Mans 911S auctions in Aug, how did it get there?

For many 911 enthusiasts, this is a most special car. Like many Porsche fans, I cannot recall the amount of times I've re-visited that wonderfully atmospheric qiuet-before-the-storm beginning of the 1971 McQueen racing movie, Le Mans.

Having always thought that the car in the movie was the one seen by myself and many others at the Peterson Motor Museum in L.A, we at Jelenek have asked how this iconic car has come up for sale? The simple answer: it isn't the same car, the one in the museum was purchased before he filmed LeMans in 1969 (and has stayed in the McQueen family estate) - and the real Le Mans car, (according to a test drive of the very car published in an article three years ago on www.insideline.com) is a car that time forgot.

In 1970, McQueen ordered the 2.2 S car with a US delivery spec' for the filming of Le Mans and usage for when on location. His production company, Solar, then exported the car back to Germany (where it underwent transmission upgrading) before being shipped to his home in LA, where it's said to have become surplus to needs, alongside an identical olive green machine. Having sold it off hastily via an advert in the LA Times, a local Porsche enthusiast looked after the car for the next three decades, before its current owner in 2005 purchased the car - a person who hadn't even seen Le Mans the film, until he examined the extensive documentation that came with the 160,000 mile car.

Of course, unless you have very deep pockets, this 1970 2.2 car, which auctions at Monterey's Classic Car week RM Auction, isn't going to be within easy reach. However, the early 911 is useable and affordable classic (an appreciating asset), and a car that Jelenek thinks stands leaps and bounds over other classics of it era.

In the last few years, however, entry prices of the 2.2 S and 2.4 S 1970s cars have become extortionate, with buyers being well-advised to look at later models, or even less desirable non S models such as Es and American-only Ts. A good look-a-like current example, for sale in the UK at Paul Stevens, is a US spec short wheelbase model from the late 1960s. As a 2.0 litre, pre-1970 car it is ideal for classic racing event entry, and Jelenek likes its Texan-import patina (original paintwork and engine), not to mention its reasonable price tag of £32,995. All you need to cmplete the McQueen look is the Tag watch, the Ray-Ban shades and a pair of Hush Puppies.

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