Porsche 917 from Steve McQueen's 'Le Mans' up for auction

The world is awash with films based on racing – think Grand Prix, Driven, Rush – though none encapsulate the drama and visceral experience quite like Steve McQueen's Le Mans.

Released 50 years ago today, the film was based on a fictional version of the real 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, utilising footage from the 1970 event as well as some scripted racing scenes to bring the race to the silver screen for the first time.

Although McQueen was the undisputed focus of the film, starring as driver Michael Delaney, his performance would've been for naught without the star cars, centrally his team's trio of Porsche 917 K sportscars.

With its 4.5-litre, flat-12 engine and sleek bodywork, the 917 was as important to the film as the man in the driver's seat and now one of the hero cars is up for sale at RM Sotheby's Monterey auction.

5

917-26 is in pristine condition after being restored by its current owner

Porsche 917 chassis 26 is a genuine racer, having been used as the #22 entry with Mike Hailwood and David Hobbs in the 1970 edition of Le Mans, with real-life racing scenes in the film featuring the very same car which crashed out just 49 laps into the endurance race.

Despite the crash, 917-26 was repaired by Porsche using parts from 917-31 and was soon called up to help with the scripted racing scenes for the film, retaining its #22 and winning the race with Larry Wilson (played by Christopher Waite) driving ahead of McQueen's character.

The car kept going until the end of 1974 when it was retired, eventually being bought by a collector in 2012 who returned it to the iconic Gulf Porsche livery, replicating how the car started the 1970 race.

Featuring at RM Sotheby's Monterey auction in August, it's not known how much the car could fetch but going off chassis 24 – a test-only car which was leased by McQueen's Solar Productions company for the filming of Le Mans – selling for nearly $18 million at Pebble Beach in 2017, 917-26 could earn its current owner a fair bit of coin when it crosses the block.