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Steve McQueen's last Porsche headed for auction

Most people might be happy ordering a new car off a lot, but Steve McQueen was most definitely not "most people." The Hollywood icon was known to custom-order his cars. What you see here is the last car McQueen would ever order, and now it's going up for auction. This is a 1976 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera (known to aficionados as the 930) that the actor had done up in Slate Gray, with sunroof, dual mirrors, a limited-slip differential, black sports seats, and a switch on the dashboard to kill the taillights in case he was being pursued at night. Chassis number 9306800408 is powered by a 3.0-liter flat six that's turbocharged but (in a rare early configuration) not intercooled. The air-cooled engine features Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection and drives 234 horsepower through a four-speed to the rear wheels. McQueen ordered the 930 new from Bob Smith Porsche in Hollywood. He died a few years later, never having special-ordered another new car – making this the last of its kind. "This car is rich in history," said his son Chad McQueen. "This is the last of the McQueen cars, really. That's known. That's real." And it can be yours, if you place the right bid. Mecum Auctions has it on consignment for its upcoming event during Monterey Car Week, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit Boys Republic – McQueen's own alma mater. STEVE MCQUEEN'S LAST SPECIAL-ORDER PORSCHE TO BE OFFERED AT MECUM MONTEREY 1976 Porsche Turbo 930 Personalized by The King of Cool to Cross the Block Aug. 15 WALWORTH, Wis. – July 14, 2015 – The very last car special-ordered by The King of Cool—the late mega movie star Steve McQueen—will be offered for sale at the Mecum Daytime Auction in Monterey this Aug. 13-15 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa – Del Monte Golf Course. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera will be donated to McQueen's alma mater, the reform school Boys Republic. "This car is rich in history," says McQueen's son Chad. "This is the last of the McQueen cars, really. That's known. That's real." McQueen's untimely death in 1980 at age 50 made this 1976 Porsche 930, chassis 9306800408, the very last of his special-order cars. His insatiable and notorious need for speed and his affinity for fine automobiles meant always having the best sets of wheels, and his Porsche 930 is no exception.

Magnus Walker turbocharges his love for the Porsche 911

He's had his fill of early, long-hood Porsche 911s - he owns at least one from each model year, from 1964 to 1973 - so Magnus Walker, a fanatic of the Stuttgart, Germany-based automaker, recently set his sights on the early Porsche 930, as documented by this XCAR video called 'Turbo Fever.' Let us translate: pretty soon Walker will own all of the earliest, non-intercooled 911 Turbos - at least one from each model year, starting at 1975 and ending at 1977 (though the 1975 911 Turbo Carrera never officially was imported to the US by Porsche, so it'll be tougher to find one Stateside).
Any Porsche enthusiast can tell you why they love their car, and it often comes down to the small details that differentiate one model year from another. One of many examples is the mid-'80s 928. They look similar, but the basic difference between a 1984 Porsche 928 S and a 1985 928 S (US-spec) is two camshafts and 54 horsepower, though each car's V8 has its own pros and cons. We'll let Magnus Walker tell you all about the 930 and what makes the first three years special, as he's becoming quite the expert on early, air-cooled 911s. When the nearly 15-minute mini-documentary was filmed, which you can view below, he already had added four early 930s to his collection!

1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS takes center stage with Petrolicious

Today, one of the most exciting track toys available is the Porsche 911 GT3. Its forbearer, though, was an altogether different beast that was every bit as exciting. Yes, we're talking about the old 911 Carrera RS that blessed the early 1970s. With a mere 1,580 cars built, meant specifically to satisfy the FIA's homologation requirements, the RS is one rare pre-Malaise era cars.
Complete with a 2.7-liter flat-six engine, this RS of Mark Haddawy is one of the earlier examples of the breed (later cars received a larger, 3.0-liter engine). Still, it can scamper to 60 miles per hour in a very respectable 5.6 seconds and will happily hit 150 mph in a straight line. Sporting Porsche's iconic duckbill rear spoiler, the equally iconic Fuchs wheels, as well as slew of options, as Haddawy points out, each of the nearly 1,600 RS models is its own unique iteration on the Porsche performance formula.
Take a look below for the latest video from the crew at Petrolicious.