911’s Auction Ubiquity Comes Down to One Thing: Steve McQueen

By Adam Pockross - January 29, 2016

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You may have noticed that your old 911 is worth a lot more than it used to be. Well, there’s a reason for the boom. And it all comes down to Steve McQueen.

Well, at least that’s when the boom started, according to ClassicCars.Com‘s cogent evaluation of the current 911 market, which is experiencing unrivaled values of late. For evidence, author Bob Golfen looks at all the cars at all the myriad Arizona auctions. And 911s are seemingly ubiquitous.

According to Golfen, this all started when the King of Cool drove that stunning 1970 911S through the opening three minutes and 40 seconds of Le Mans, which you can see some footage of in the clip below. The clip was posted by RM Sotheby’s, presumably around the time they sold the car for a mind-boggling $1,375,000 at the 2011 Monterey auction.

1970 Porsche 911S Steve McQueen

Golfen believes that was the moment which set the boom in motion. That everyone saw this beautiful man driving this beautiful car through some beautiful French countryside, and the zeitgeist shifted. He also credits Porsche’s high profile celebration of the 911’s 50th anniversary in 2013, but that came later, of course.

Though McQueen may have started the surge pricing, the prices themselves have helped to keep 911 values aloft: “The increase in price has increased the visibility of them. A lot of people who thought of them as a car that was worth X are willing to sell them because it is now worth X plus Y. That brings out a lot of cars,” says collector-car appraiser, Dave Kinney.

Kinney offers some further insight as to what it means to have so many 911s at auction, so head on over and check it out, then let us know if you think Steve McQueen’s the reason I can’t afford a 911?