Two of the Greatest Le Mans Rivals up for Auction

Rivalries… the battle between two people, two teams or manufacturers, two nations even. They have been part of racing since the very first one. Heck, they even say that the first motor race was held when the second car ever was built. Throughout the many decades of racing since the dawn of the car, there have been a fair few rivalries that are considered legendary. Think Prost versus Senna, Lauda versus Hunt, Schumacher versus Hakkinen, Verstappen versus Hamilton and so on. But in terms of cars, there are some prolific rivalries as well, some even fought out on the Big Screen. Ford v Ferrari immediately comes to mind, but perhaps an even bigger one; Porsche v Ferrari! No matter who you support more, there’s no denying both Porsche and Ferrari have left an everlasting mark on the sport, especially in endurance racing. And luck would have it, albeit only favouring the wealthiest of collectors, two main protagonists from the 1970s are up for auction on the same day! In the Gulf Oil corner, we have the Porsche 917K, and in the Ecurie Francorchamps the Ferrari 512 M!

Le Mans in the 1970s was a very different game from today. Safety was pretty much an afterthought as racing was all about pushing cars and drivers to the edge, and unfortunately, sometimes, over it. Increasingly powerful engines were developed and through the rise of aerodynamics, and advancements in chassis and exterior development, speeds climbed to new blistering heights! Casualties were a very realistic part of it as well, with multiple fatal crashes every season. I’m sure many of you are familiar with the stories of the horrific crash during the 1955 running of the Le Mans 24 Hours. Although this rivalry between the Porsche 917K and Ferrari 512 M takes place a decade and a half later, there very real and very fatal risks had not been tackled yet!

Speeds were hitting well over 340kph at Le Mans by the dawn of the 1970s, with the Porsche 917LH (LH for Langheck, or longtail) clocking in an astonishing 362kph at one point for instance. By then, the Circuit de la Sarthe (the track’s official name) still had a straight section from Tertre Rouge all the way down to Mulsanne. This closed-off section of public road stretched for 6 kilometres, all of which was flat out for all drivers at the time. There’s only a small kink about three-quarters in, but that’s [pretty much it. Two chicanes were introduced for the 1990 race, cutting the straight in three roughly equal-length sections. From then on, top speeds dropped considerably. Nevertheless, there still is something magical in seeing drivers keeping their foot planted for about half a lap, in sports prototypes like this, or in Group C cars cracking 400kph in the late 1980s.

A lot of people consider the 1970s the greatest era of racing, which I can fully understand. It was a time for major leaps forward year after year. Drivers and teams tried to extract the most out of themselves and the machines, in the pursuit of immortality as a racing legend. This competitive edge is portrayed in films like Le Mans, perhaps the most famous and beloved racing film ever made. None other than Steve McQueen pilots a Gulf Oil blue-and-orange Porsche 917K against, you’ve guessed it, a Ferrari 512! Oh, and to make it the plot twist even thicker; this is one of the original Ferrari cars that was pitted against McQueen in the actual Le Mans movie! Both cars are now up for auction at Mecum and RM Sotheby’s, which is an insane opportunity to get hold of two of the greatest racing cars ever made. And just as in the movie, we’re humorously pitting the two against each other!

the protagonist – steve McQueen’s Porsche 917k

The Porsche 917 is one of the most famous racing cars ever constructed, and it made its debut as a sports prototype built to comply with 5-litre sports car regulations. It first raced in 1969 and was expected to land Porsche its first-ever overall Le Mans 24 Hours win, but it wasn’t to be. It proved more than a handful in its original longtail configuration and none of the three 917s entered in the 1969 edition made it across the finish line that year. Porsche wasn’t deterred though, and a year later the revised 917K, with K indicating Kurzheck (short-tail) claimed the brand’s first outright win at the hands of Richard Atwood and Hans Hermann. A 917L came in second, with a Porsche 908/2LH locking out the podium. A year later, in 1971, it would win again but this time with Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep piloting it.

The Porsche 917 would be continuously developed from its launch to its retirement in the mid-1970s. It had an incredibly lightweight pressurised aluminium chassis, weighing in at a staggering 42 kilos only. The driver cabin was pushed as far forward as possible, with the driver’s feet extended over the front axle. The wrap-around windshield gave it excellent visibility, with the body being constructed out of fibre glass and magnesium. Originally, it came with a 4.5 litre flat-12 producing 520bhp, which was developed and enlarged to 4.9 litre and 600bhp, and eventually to 5.0 litre and 630bhp. Later versions of the 917 gained even more power thanks to turbocharging, with the 917/30 that dominated (and killed) the Can-Am racing series said to produce a staggering 1,580bhp in qualifying trim. No wonder it got the nickname Turbo-Panzer!

The Porsche 917K (chassis 917-022) that now comes up for auction is both a racing legend and a movie star, as Steve McQueen piloted it as Michael Delayne in the cult movie Le Mans. It has a staggering list of owners, which includes McQueen himself, but also Porsche racing drivers Reinhold Joest, Brian Redman and Richard Attwood. By the early 2000s, it changed hands from Attwood to Porsche historian and collector Frank Gallogly and then to legendary comedian and prolific Porsche collector Jerry Seinfeld. The fact it’s now coming up for auction is an absolute once-in-a-lifetime chance, as there aren’t that many 917s, to begin with, and they very rarely come up for auction at all!

The Porsche 917K is in immaculate condition as it has been restored to its 1970 specifications as seen in the movie. It is being auctioned by Mecum during the Kissimmee 2025 auction weekend right now. There’s no estimate given by Mecum, but it’s expected to fetch in the neighbourhood of USD 25 million, which is an insane amount of money but somewhat understandable for a car of this importance. Cars like this transcend the sum of their parts essentially, becoming rolling (and driving, if possible) works of art.

the antagonist – erich Stahler’s Ferrari 512 m

A direct rival in more ways than one, the Ferrari 512 M that’s up for auction over at RM Sotheby’s is an equally as legendary car. Although it never claimed a major win such as the coveted 24 Hours of Le Mans, it is one of the greatest sports prototype racing cars coming from Maranello. It started out as the Ferrari 512 S and had its maiden race in the 1970 24 Hours of Daytona (won by Porsche with a 917K). A year in, it was modified and called the 512 M (for Modificato), exchanging the more curvaceous longtail body for a shorttail one. The chassis was drawn up from steel tubing, with aluminium sheet panels for the body, meaning it weighed about 100kg more than the Porsche.

Under the rear decklid was a completely new 60-degree V12 with a capacity of 5.0 litres. (the designation 512 already hints at this; 5 litres, 12 cylinders). In the 512 S configuration, it produced about 550bhp, which was increased to about 600bhp in the 512 M. That meant that despite the weight deficit, the 512 M was actually closely matched to its main rival, the Porsche 917K. In both editions of the famous French endurance race, however, the 512 S and 512 M failed to put up a real threat for the win. It only achieved a fourth-place finish in 1970 and a third-place finish in the 1971 edition, in both instances campaigned by the North American Racing Team (NART).

This very car, chassis 1030, was sold as a 512 S to Ecurie Francorchamps straight out of the factory in 1970. The Belgian racing team always dressed their cars in yellow, the country’s national racing colour, and subsequently this was the only one of the 25 cars built to leave Maranello in Giallo. It raced at Le Mans twice, with 5th place in the 1970 edition being its best result. It’s one of only 15 cars to be upgraded to 512 M specifications by Ferrari, which included the shorter tail section. During its racing career, it was piloted by Derek Bell and Alain de Cadenet, to name but two. The 512 M would be the final sports prototype raced by Ecurie Francorchamps. It featured in the Le Mans movie but I haven’t been able to confirm if it was yellow or red, or what racing number was on it. Now though, it sports the 1971 Ecurie Francorchamps yellow racing livery.

To get your hands on this incredibly special and rare Ferrari 512 M as raced by Ecurie Francorchamps, you have to bring your chequebook with you. And better make sure you’ve informed your personal banker, as RM Sotheby’s has put an estimate on it of EUR 9 million to EUR 12 million, but I can see it breaking the top number quite easily! It is, after all, one of the latest and greatest V12 sports prototypes by the Cavalino Rampante!

For more information on the Porsche 917K or Ferrari 512, please visit Mecum.com or RMSotheby.com.

Editorial Note: The images and information used for this article are sourced from and used with permission of Mecum Auctions and RM Sotheby’s unless stated otherwise.