Cars / Cars and Bikes

You Can Buy Steve McQueen’s Last Porsche

This 1976 Porsche 911 Turbo, special-ordered by Steve McQueen, heads to auction in August.

Jul 24, 2015 | By AFPRelaxnews

Steve McQueen 1976 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera

This August at the Mecum Daytime Auction in Monterey you will have the chance to purchase a car from Steve McQueen’s personal collection.

It’s a 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera and what makes it special is that it is the very last car the movie star ordered before his death in 1980.

“This car is rich in history,” said McQueen’s son Chad. “This is the last of the McQueen cars, really. That’s known. That’s real.”

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The car was specified with dual side mirrors — believe it or not, a very unusual request in the 1970s — a sunroof and a limited-slip differential for better cornering grip and control at the limits. The star understood what happens when a rear-engined car is fitted with a turbocharger. However, he also had a couple of other special features added.

“My dad had little things done to it,” Chad says. “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.”

Steve McQueen Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera

This fear of being caught by the cops while on a nighttime cruise also explains why he specified overtaking mirrors for both sides of the car.

McQueen was the quintessential bad boy who turned his life around so it’s also fitting that the institution he credited with giving him a firm hand when he needed it most, the Boys Republic reform school, will be receiving a portion of the sale price, when the car goes under the hammer.

While there is no official estimate given for this car, it is being speculated that it could fetch about $1.5 million.

The Mecum auction is one of the lead-up events for the 2015 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance that runs the weekend starting August 15. 


 
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