Car collectors, get your checkbooks ready. One of the most important pieces of motorsport history and car film history is set to go under the hammer early next year. The Porsche 917 has forever earned its place in the history books as the car that put Porsche on the map at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
This Porsche 917K, or short-tail ‘kurzheck’, is one of two actual race cars that were used to film the 1971 film Le Mans, produced by Hollywood legend Steve McQueen. McQueen also played the lead role in the film, behind the wheel of this very car wearing the #20 livery. Chassis 917-022 was reportedly owned by the actor himself, who later took it racing and put it on the podium several times. That’s enough for it to be worth serious money to most car collectors — making it a possible record-setter when auctioned by Mecum in January 2025.
To add to it, this car and the other 917 used in filming were sold to Reinhold Joest, owner of racing teams that have won 15 times at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Joest himself raced the 24H but his highest finish has been second place. The car was later sold to an actual Le Mans-winning driver, Richard Attwood, who repainted it in a different livery — his race-winning 917 Salzburg livery to be specific.
Attwood sold the car in 2000, it was repainted yet again to its movie livery which is how Hollywood actor and car collector Jerry Seinfeld found it in 2001. Seinfeld is said to have bought it for $1.3 million back then. It’s unclear whether Seinfeld is the current owner, or if ownership has changed hands since then but full ownership details are available for serious buyers.
Speaking of full details — this particular car isn’t the actual winning car from the Le Mans movie. According to behind-the-scenes lore, this chassis 917-022 was actually repainted as the #21 car after Steve McQueen’s character crashed the #20 car. The plot thickens here: McQueen crashed another car wearing 917K bodywork in filming, not a Porsche 917.
This chassis was then painted with the #21 car’s race number, ultimately finishing the movie-race in second place. That being said, it was still McQueen’s personal 917K for an unknown period of time, and the car he personally signed with the words “‘Finished.’ Thanks for staying together”.
The other Porsche 917K used in filming Le Mans sold back in 2017 for $14 million. That car also didn’t have quite the same provenance — and the classic car market has certainly grown in leaps and bounds in the years since it sold. Early estimates have the value pegged at over $20 million. We’re sure the King of Cool McQueen would be proud.
