Car collectors will have a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to bid on what is believed to be the most expensive Porsche (VWAGY+0.62%) in history, when a vehicle once owned by Steve McQueen and currently belonging to Jerry Seinfeld crosses the block at an upcoming Mecum auction.
Bidding will begin on the 1969 Porsche 917K at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction, at Osceola Heritage Park, on January 18. The Porsche is the crown jewel of this year’s sales, which feature more than 4,500 vehicles.
Seinfeld purchased the car in 2001 and recently commissioned a multi-million dollar renovation to restore the Porsche to its “Le Mans” condition. The Porsche, chassis No. 917-022, has a Gulf blue and orange exterior and a black and red interior.
“The thing I love the most about Porsches is, I love the story of how they started so small and grew so quickly,” Seinfeld said in a video statement.
“There are cars that I call ‘moment cars,’ that are from moments when things just landed perfectly. It happens in lives, it happens in cultures, it happens in stories, so to me the 917 is the moment of Porsche where all their work and expertise came together.”
Aside from the pedigree of its owners, the vehicle is a piece of film history in its own right. McQueen drove the Porsche in his 1971 film “Le Mans,” which depicted the famed sports car race of the same name.
“The unbroken chain of ownership, and A-lister ownership, is what is so remarkable about this car,” said John Kraman, the recently deceased Mecum Auctions TV commentator and analyst, according to the Robb Report.
“It’s set to become the highest value car Mecum has ever sold, and the highest-ever-value Porsche in history.”
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