I had a chance to see this car in the (then) owner's collection, approximately 2 year's ago. It's a nice car with a great colour combination (it's grey, BTW, not green as stated in the column below).
By itself, it's maybe a $75K car. So the Le Mans movie/McQueen ownership added roughly $1.3 million in value (plus the buyer's commission). It sounds like it was a good decision for him to put it up for auction.
As ridiculous as the price seems, I have to admit that I got goose pimples admiring the car, alone, in the garage, with all of the movie documents demonstrating its provenance. Like everyone else, I remember the movie opening scene fondly. I guess there is a price to recapture one's youth.
Strong rumours that Jerry Seinfeld was interested. I wonder if he bought it?
From:
http://www.thepassinglane.ca/2011/08/steve-mcqueen-porsche-911-hammers-at-1375-million-at-auction-.html"Setting a new world record for a Porsche 911 sold at auction, Steve McQueen's 1970 Porsche 911S went to a new owner for a cool $1.375 million during RM Auctions' Monterey event last night.
The 911 wasn't just owned by McQueen; it also featured prominently at the beginning of the film LeMans as the lead character, played by McQueen, drives through France reflecting on the realities of racing.
The beautiful dark green car had 112,000 miles (180,320 km) on its odometer. Despite the high-ish mileage, bids for the McQueen 911 started rolling in at $200,000. This 911 also happens to mark the 200th vehicle that RM Auctions has sold for more than $1 million."
A video of the famous opening to Le Mans (featuring the car) can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKVGDTjJmXk&feature=player_embedded
