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Mon Nov 27, 2006 11:44 am

What model year 911 is Steve McQueen driving in the opening scene of "Le Mans"?

Thanks ...

Mon Nov 27, 2006 12:14 pm

The movie finished filming in November of 1970 so it's no newer than that. It was a 911S model.

Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:27 pm

Okay, it's a '69, and at the Peterson:

"1969 Porsche, 911S Coupe, Originally owned by Steve McQueen
Considered one of the most recognizable sports cars in the history of the automobile, the Porsche 911 was powered by a two-liter, air-cooled flat six that gave brisk acceleration. This performance appealed to Steve McQueen, who came to prefer Porsches for many driving situations. Painted medium gray, a color frequently seen on cars owned by McQueen, the 911S was not as conspicuous as other sports cars of the day and attracted less unwanted attention. More than a mere touring car, this example was driven by McQueen’s character in the opening scenes of Le Mans, and was the vehicle that he drove onto the race track that introduced the flashback sequence."

link: http://petersen.org/default.cfm?DocID=1014&cat...ibitID=407

Wed Nov 29, 2006 6:12 pm

Thank you very much for your answer. I appreciate the information on Steve McQueen as well. The car is quite a darkish grey and, to me, "gorgeous".

This is my traditional race movie week before my wife starts us up on the round of great Christmas classics. Besides "Le Mans" , I am up for "Grand Prix" and "Wining".

Any suggestions for other great race car films?

Cheers,

Coupet

Wed Nov 29, 2006 9:23 pm

You just can't beat LeMans. I have a Motor Trend article I will scan that reviewed it (of course they loved it). Nothing more beautiful in the automotive world than a full race 917 screaming at 200+mph! The opening scene is absolutely spellbinding.

Thu Nov 30, 2006 4:33 pm

Last season (or the previous one - '05) there was a 917 up here at the River's Edge race track in Mission BC. If memory serves me rightly, it was during the time of the May vintage race. River's Edge is a nine turn 1.5 mile course. The 917 was one of the cars used in the"Le Mans" movie. The owner wasn't racing it as it was for sale. It was taken on the track for a few solo laps so all could see and appreciate this fine machine. I've took a few photos. The track was far two short for the driver to get it out of third. What an incredible machine!

Sat Dec 02, 2006 4:49 pm

Those 917s were at the same time, beautiful and frighteningly fast.

back to the subject, James Garner did a movie called "The Racing Scene" in 1969 that is supposed to be authentic racing style, but I've never seen it. He compared it more to "Grand Prix" than "Winning," which he was somewhat disdainful of.

Sun Dec 03, 2006 3:51 pm

Here's the article (pdf format, 1MB):
http://desperado.scvnet.com/~philh/LeMans.pdf

Wed Dec 13, 2006 4:23 pm

Thanks for the article. Sorry for the delay in expressing my gratitude. I have been preoccupied with things other than cars of late and have just signed in to The Samba in quite sometime.

The 917 that was at the Mission BC track in May of '05 was car number 20. It is unfortunate that the old Westwood track is no more as the 917 could have gone through the gears a bit more there. The car was for sale. I forget the asking price - more coin than I could justify, I'm sure.

Thanks again.

Cheers,

Coupet

Tue Dec 26, 2006 1:59 pm

I saw a few 917s in 2002 in Daytona. It was a rare opportunity to see that many 917s in one place. There is a place in Palm Beach florida that stores a few 917 and 2 or 3 of them actually run and they take them out on the track for Historic Racing events. What a sight to see a 917 on the banks of Daytona...
They are a lot smaller then one may think when you are standing next to it. The one that Steve McQueen bought to film the movie was there on display as well. That car was from the getgo modified for the camera equipment and never actually raced except for the movie. Another interesting fact about LeMans is the fact that Steve McQueen almost went broke filming that movie just because he was such a perfectionist.
I'll dig up my photos and post them later.
Another great little film is Rendezvous by Claude Lelouch, an obscure little 8 1/2 minute underground short film shot from a Ferrari 275GTB flying through the streets of Paris at sunrise in 1976. It was an underground film because Lelouch couldn't get the proper paperwork and permits to do the film. Well, he got an F1 driver that apparently knows Paris well to drive the car and they went ahead and filmed it anyway. He got arrested for it but he wouldn't disclose who the driver was and the film was released and only available underground. I guess at some point the statute of limitations ran out and the film became available on DVD and now thanks to YouTube and Google Video, online.
Enjoy
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2851488008488190547&q=rendezvous
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzWuMXk9GSI

Wed Jan 17, 2007 2:57 pm

That 911 is lovely :)