Steve McQueen's 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo to Benefit Boys Republic
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3. CALicense#81410
Tobecomearegisteredbidder,visitMecum.comorcall262-275-5050
To be offered at The Daytime Auction Monterey - Saturday, August 15th
Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa - Del Monte Golf Course // Monterey, CA
Photography by David Newhardt
Vintage photos courtesy of Boys Republic
A portion of the proceeds to benefit the Boys Republic
To learn more about this organization, go to boysrepublic.org
"NOTHING WITHOUT LABOR" - SINCE 1907
5. W
hen a car’s history is steeped in so much of
what makes the hearts of enthusiasts race
with excitement, when every single aspect of
a car and its background come together in a
perfectly packaged representation of an icon, a role model, and
hero to many, that car is no longer ‘just’ a great car. It comes
to embody the life and legacy of the people behind it, the
people who have loved it and given it its place in the spotlight.
Steve McQueen’s 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera does just that
and will continue to do so with its upcoming sale set to benefit
McQueen’s alma mater, the 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.
9. McQueen’s insatiable need for speed and
his affinity for fine automobiles meant
always having the best sets of wheels. His
Porsche 930 is no exception. Capable of
producing 234 HP at 5,500 RPM, the
matching-numbers four-speed car came
equipped with the rare early production non-
intercooled 3.0 liter engine, no. 6860413,
with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection and was
special ordered from Bob Smith Porsche
in Hollywood. McQueen specified that the
car be delivered with sunroof, dual mirrors,
Positraction and black sport seats, and
the original paint tag showing McQueen’s
special-order paint code 615-9-2 (Slate Gray)
is still riveted to the door jamb. But as fine
as the car was when delivered, McQueen
had even more in mind for it.
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10. “My dad had little things done to it,” Chad says. “Like on the
dashboard, he had a switch put on so it would kill the rear lights in
case he was being chased on Mulholland Drive.”
McQueen also switched out the wheels after taking possession,
notes the Porsche’s current owner, car collector and restorer Mike
Regalia. “Later he put the 8s and 9s on it. It came with 7s and 8s,
which were the standard wheels he ordered. Then he put 8s and 9s
on it; but you know, all of those are personal touches that Steve had
done—and he didn’t do many to it—Porsche 930 Turbo Carreras
were pretty out-of-the-box balls-out cars.”
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13. McQueen wasn’t the only one who took full
advantage of all the power and speed the
car was capable of. Chad still remembers
when his dad first took delivery of the
car, nearly four decades ago, and tells
the story of his own joy rides behind the
wheel of the 930.
“When the Porsche RSR Turbo came out in
1974, I was so enamored with it, I just couldn’t
wait to drive the road car. My dad got this 930
Turbo in 1976, and I didn’t have to wait any
longer,” he says. “I was 15 at the time, and
he was out of town for a week. Every day,
sometimes twice in the same day, I’d open the
garage, turn the key, give the car a stealthy roll
down to the cul-de-sac, fire it up and take off.
“But, Julia, the woman who was there to look
after me—my friends called her ‘The Chad
Wrangler’—caught wind of what I was doing.
True to form, she told my dad.”
CHAD MCQUEEN
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14. Chad continues, “My dad called me, to let me know he’d be gone
for two more days. So the next morning, same routine, I fire up
the car and head out. As I’m accelerating down the two-lane beach
road I see a yellow taxi-cab closing in from the opposite direction.
Inside that cab, I see two of the biggest blue eyes in the world. My
dad was on his way home. I didn’t know whether to go to Mexico or
what. I also discovered what happens when you lift off in a corner
with a Turbo; it was like, ‘Holy S$@!’
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18. A car as fine as the Turbo demanded top
dollar, and this one’s ownership history speaks
to that with other successful Hollywood
names on the list. After a few years spent
enjoying it, McQueen sold the car back to
Bob Smith Porsche, and it was then sold to
movie producer and writer Floyd Mutrux.
Following Mutrux’s period of ownership,
singer Dean Martin’s son—actor Dean
Paul Martin—took possession of the car
and owned it until his tragic death when
his National Guard jet fighter crashed
in 1987. The Porsche passed through a
short list of other owners over the next two
decades (always remaining in the Southern
California area) including Bill Susdorf, who
had the car mechanically and cosmetically
refreshed in the early ‘90s, ensuring that all
of the work done was documented and all
service records were retained.
Since Regalia took possession of the car
in 2008, he has done nothing more than
what was necessary to keep the car in good
operating condition. Even as an expert in
restoration work, Regalia opted to keep the
car in as true-to-original condition as possible,
recognizing immediately that it occupied a
truly unique place in history.
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20. Ordered at the pinnacle of McQueen’s success, the car serves as a
reminder and representation of all that Steve McQueen struggled
through to reach the heights that he did. It is well-known that
McQueen’s childhood was extremely turbulent—tragic, even—
and there is one place in particular that McQueen credits with
bringing him back from the brink of self-destruction: The Boys
Republic, a reform school for troubled youth.
“He always made sure he took care of this place,” says Chad
about Boys Republic. “It was a big part of his life, and he told
me one day, he said, ‘Son, this is the one place that turned
my life around.’”
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22. As a 1946 alumnus of the school, McQueen
had been enrolled after narrowly escaping
jail time for various crimes including
fighting and stealing. Having grown up
with little in the way of parental support,
McQueen was the very definition of a
troubled youth. His father abandoned him
and his relationship with his mother was
touch-and-go at best and rife with turmoil.
His time at Boys Republic showed him
that there were, in fact, people in this world
who wanted the best for him and were
willing to go out of their way to ensure that
he succeeded.
“It meant a lot to my dad the way that it
transformed him,” says Chad. “I mean, he
could have easily been in jail for the rest of
his life. He called it the hoosegow. ‘I could
have easily ended up in the hoosegow if it
wasn’t for this place,’ he’d say.”
McQueen’s rise to success in the years
following his time at the school were not
coincidental, and he did more than merely
speak the school’s praise. McQueen took it
upon himself to support both the school and
the students that attend it, and he continued
to do so up until the time of his death.
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24. In homage of a great man and in support of the school
that helped him become just that, a portion of the
proceeds from the sale of the Turbo will be donated to
the Boys Republic.
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25. Since his passing, McQueen’s family and friends, and even his some
of his fans, have continued to support the school in his memory
and out of their own beliefs about the amazing work the school is
doing in its mission to help troubled youth.
Steve McQueen felt that, at least in part, he owed his success to
the Boys Republic. As a piece of automotive history that truly
embodies that success, it is only fitting that his 1976 Porsche
930 Turbo Carrera will follow McQueen’s lead and carry on
his philanthropic endeavors. In homage of a great man and in
support of the school that helped him become just that, a portion
of the proceeds from the sale of the Turbo will be donated to
the Boys Republic.
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26. “I think what we’re going to create here [with the offering of this
car] is really the life story of Steve McQueen; the life story of what
the Boys Republic meant to Steve McQueen,” says Regalia. “I
think the future owner of this car is getting all of that, in addition
to getting a truly great collector car.”
Offered with a Porsche Certificate of Authenticity, extensive service
records, the original owner’s manual, original tools and original sales
brochures, this 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo—the last of the McQueen
cars—will serve as an excellent centerpiece in the collection of its
next caretaker. And not only will the new owner be obtaining a
stunning piece of automotive and movie icon history, they will
also be giving back to a school that’s changed the lives of countless
troubled youth, including the King of Cool’s.
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