Steve McQueen had a deep appreciation of fast cars on the silver screen, from the Bullitt Mustang he tried so desperately to buy, to the Porsche 917 he drove at 225mph during filming for Le Mans – but few models had such an enduring association with the actor away from movies as the Porsche 911. While the opportunity to purchase McQueen’s 1969 911S passed after it was sold by his son, Chad in 2007, it’s not too late to buy the last Porsche ordered by the racer in 1976 – a turbocharged 930 finished in Slate Grey.
The car was the final special-order Porsche bought by McQueen and it’s due to cross the auction block at Mecum’s Monterey sale on 13-15 August.
The early non-intercooled 3-litre example features a four-speed manual gearbox, a limited slip differential and black sports seats, plus a few non-standard modifications added by McQueen after he took delivery: “My dad had little things done to it,” said Chad. “Like on the dashboard, he had a switch put on so it would kill the rear lights in case he was being chased on Mulholland Drive.”
Unlike the earlier 911, which was kept in the family for a considerable length of time, the 930 found a new owner relatively quickly. The names on the logbook include film producer and writer Floyd Mutrux, who began his career after contributing to Two-Lane Blacktop, plus Dean Paul Martin, son of the famous crooner.
Fittingly, a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the Porsche will be donated to the reform school credited with turning McQueen’s life around – the Boys Republic in Chino. How much that will be is a matter for speculation: no pre-sale estimate has been released, but it’s a safe bet you’ll have to have very deep pockets.
