An example of the most iconic Porsche racing car of all time and arguably the most iconic racing car of all time, a short tail 917 in Gulf livery that was driven in Le Mans. is for sale next month at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction. It didn’t win the race in real life, but this is the car portrayed as the winner in Steve McQueen’s Le Mans film, and that is perhaps more important. It probably won’t set a record for the most expensive car ever sold, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see this a clear 20 million.
The car is currently in the care of Paul Lanzante, world-renowned as the caretaker for dozens of limited edition racing cars and high-end street cars. The UK-based shop is known for its work with McLaren, Porsche and Ferrari machines. To promote sales of the car, RM Sotheby’s sent a video team to watch Paul set fire to the car.
Given the car was designed in the 1960s, it’s surprisingly difficult to get it to run. While the 917 is started with a light key in the dashboard ignition, there is much more to it than just jumping in and turning the key. It’s not as complex as a modern F1 car, for example, but there are a lot more steps than I expected.
Lanzante makes a very good point using brake cleaner instead of gasoline as the gas could stain the spark plugs and you mess up the whole process. If you’re using a highly evaporative substance like brake cleaner – and want to make sure you’re using a non-chlorinated version, or it doesn’t burn at all – which is a mixture of heptane and acetone, it’s far less likely to stick to the plug ends as liquid. This is good advice for getting a cold engine to boom.
Anyway, the next time you need to start your $ 20 million Porsche, you will have an idea of what it will take.