Who owns Steve McQueen’s Porsche 917K?
After believing that one of the most influential cars in existence didn’t sell with a $25 million offer amongst a worldwide crowd of fans and buyers, Jerry Seinfeld has finally opened up about the story behind his Porsche 917K on the newest episode of Spike’s Car Radio podcast. Seinfeld says he didn’t even watch the auction, but was using it as a high-profile advertisement for the former Steve McQueen car. The Porsche 917K once owned by Steve McQueen, and later, Jerry Seinfeld, made headlines back in late January for failing to sell at auction despite a $25 million bid.He also said he didn’t really expect to sell the car at the auction anyway; to him, it was more of a global advertisement for the car and for Mecum than anything else. Seinfeld explains that with high-end items like this, a lot of the time, serious buyers don’t want to buy in the frenzy of an auction setting.The car will remain in Jerry Seinfeld’s care for the foreseeable future. The iconic 1969 Porsche 917K star car formerly owned by Steve McQueen will remain under the ownership of one Jerry Seinfeld, after the comedian turned down a $25 million bid during Mecum Auctions’s Kissimmee, Florida event on Saturday.
Did Steve McQueen drive a Porsche 917?
Originally, McQueen had planned to enter this car in the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans race as No. No. Michael Delaney (Steve McQueen) starts the race driving. Porsche 917 Development. Few race cars have attained the same notoriety as the 917. It was dangerously quick and also reliable enough to win Porsche’s first overall victory at Le Mans in 1970. The feat was repeated in 1971 and the 917 has now become an icon of Porsche performance.The Porsche 917 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, once in 1970 and again in 1971. It rose to become a legend among legends and remains a firm favourite among motor racing enthusiasts. The race winner built by the German marque is a genuine icon that continues to shine 50 years on.Now, many years on, one of these incredibly exciting racing cars has sold at auction for over £10million. Dominating at Le Mans in both 1970 and 1971, the 917K featured a 5.
How many Porsche 917s exist?
For Porsche, the original production series of 25 917s could not satisfy demand. Over 50 chassis were built in total. An underdog for 20 years, Porsche had turned itself into the new leader of sports car racing with the 917. The 917 #22 averaged 137. The 917 so dominated the World Sportscar Championship that at the end of the 1972 season the FIA reacted by banning its five-liter, 12-cylinder engine, thus ending the 917’s career in that series.The sheer dominance of the 917/30 led to fears that it would make the series uncompetitive. For 1974, rule changes imposed fuel consumption limits, effectively banning the 917/30 and ending Porsche’s reign in Can-Am. Though its time in Can-Am was short, the Porsche 917/30 left an indelible mark on motorsport history.