It’s not often a Porsche 917 comes up for sale, let alone one with such impressive racing and pop cu

With summer upon us and lockdown lifting (well, that’s what we keep getting told), thoughts turn to a season of fun in the sun. What better way to blow away the cobwebs of the last year than by buying your very own Porsche for high-speed high jinx on the public highway. Maybe by investing in a rare classic race car and participating in historic motorsport?!

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Last month, we highlighted how 2021 marks not only seven decades since Porsche’s first entry into the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but also exactly five decades since the release of Steve McQueen’s epic motorsport movie, Le Mans, widely considered the most authentic racing film ever made, an accolade bolstered by the inclusion of action sequences shot during the actual 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans, which was, as it turned out, the occasion of Porsche’s first overall win at Sarthe.

As outlined in the news pages in this issue of 911 & Porsche World, you can now own a piece of Porsche history with direct links to that historically significant race and film thanks to RM Sotheby’s forthcoming Monterey sale, offering up one of the 917s to compete alongside the winning Salzburg-liveried short-tail and McQueen’s own 908/02, which served as a Le Mans camera car. If you missed the details, flick to page twenty, but be ready to dig deep — it’s not often a 917 comes up for sale, let alone one with such impressive racing and pop culture provenance. For those of you interested in buying a Porsche race car without a 917 price tag, Silverstone Auctions has the solution in the form of the 1988 944 Turbo SE campaigned by Tiff Needell and 1970 Le Mans winner, Richard Attwood, as an official entrant for AFN (formerly the sole concessionaire of Porsche cars in the UK until the founding of Porsche Cars Great Britain) in various competitions.

Originally finished in Silver Rose (LM3Z) and raced in that rare colour in period, the turbocharged transaxle was subsequently painted Grand Prix White. This car, which Attwood used to finish fifth overall at the 1988 Birmingham Superprix, is sure to delight anyone considering participating in a steadily increasing number of historic race series catering for Porsche cars built during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Interested parties should shuffle along to the Classic Car Sale at Silverstone Circuit on Saturday 31st July, where the car will be available to bid on. Back in the world of road cars is the superb 1982 911 SC Targa advertised by Historics Auctioneers and destined to go under the hammer at Windsorview Lakes on Saturday 17th July.

With only 104k miles covered from new, the car has been with its current owner since 2009, forming part of a private collection of Porsches and used occasionally during this time. The paintwork and Targa top are reported to be in excellent condition, while a sizeable folder of paperwork outlines servicing in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommended intervals, and also includes all past MOT certificates. The published lower estimate is £29k, which seems perfectly reasonable. It’s certainly a lot more affordable than the £278,880 commanded by the amazing 993 Turbo S offered at the Historics Ascot Racecourse sale last month! Our pick of air-cooled street cars coming up for auction in the coming weeks, however, is the restored 1971 911 E 2.2 Coupe entered into the Manor Park Classics Summer auction, taking place on Tuesday 6th July in Runcorn. Bettered by S cams and having covered only 56k miles from new, this silver stunner is estimated to fetch between £40-50k. Many of you will have noticed the rocketing values of 997-generation 911s in recent months. With this in mind, the immaculate Tiptronic-equipped Atlas Grey 997 Carrera coupe entered into the Classic Car Auctions sale scheduled to take place at the London Classic Car Show at the end of the June looks like it could be a real bargain, as indicated by an upper estimate of just £22k. Happy bidding!