Last year, a 1934 Duesenberg Roadster sold for an estimated $10.34 million to set the record for the highest amount ever paid for an American automobile at an auction. In order to top that, it was going to take not only the perfect automobile but possibly the greatest CarFax report in vehicle history. Last Friday in Monterey, California, that car went up for auction and it showed that sausage-huffing Duesenberg that Fords rule now. The car? Steve McQueen’s Ford GT40 from the 1971 racecar porn, Le Mans.
If you’re unfamiliar with the film, McQueen – who is probably the biggest badass American actor who ever lived – played Michael Delaney, and he drove the No. 20 Gulf-Porsche 917K. However, the Ford GT40 that was sold at the auction was McQueen’s camera car that was used for close-up scenes, although it was also raced for two years by David Hobbs before the film’s production, according to the New York Times. The car in question was actually cut apart multiple times during the filming of Le Mans in order to accommodate the cameras, so buyer beware and all that jazz.
It’s also worth noting that the Ford GT40 (the same style of car that won four consecutive Le Mans races, mind you) was beat out at the same auction by a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special that sold for $11.77. Also, a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT LBW California Spider Competizione sold for $11.275. Regardless, somewhere McQueen is looking down on those cars and… doing nothing. Because he was that f*cking cool.
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This is the Gulf-Porsche.
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