«Hero Car»
For the sake of good order, we now have to report that the American comedian Jerry Seinfeld is selling the centrepiece of his once magnificent Porsche collection, the 917K with the chassis number 917-022. The King of Cool, Steve McQueen, had actually wanted to contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans with co-driver Jackie Stewart in 1970 in this car – and also make a film about the race on the side. But one of the film companies involved vetoed the plan, saying the financial risks were too high. And so this Porsche was only driven at Le Mans for filming purposes – ‘Le Mans’ (1971), the film, is still considered one of the best race movies ever.
It was only in 1971 that 917-022 was entered in a race, after it had been taken over by Reinhold Joest. The Auto Usdau team entered the Porsche in six long-distance world championship races, with Jo Siffert’s second place in Vallelunga being the best result. The next owner of the 917K was Brian Redman from 1975, in 1978 it came into the hands of Richard Attwood (who had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 in 917-023), and in 2001 it went to Jerry Seinfeld.
On 18 January 2025, the Porsche 917K will be auctioned by Mecum in Kissimmee. One might wonder why Seinfeld wants to part with this car. And yes, we will do something with these legends at some point, and we still have a few nice pictures: here.
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