Porsche and Pixar have teamed up to build a one-off 911 inspired by Sally Carrera, the 996 coupe from the movie Cars. The 2022 car started life as a Carrera GTS with a seven-speed manual transmission but has been treated to a series of modifications that don’t turn it into an exact replica of the 2005 animated sports car but leave no doubt about the source material. The finished car will be auctioned for charity by RM Sotheby’s on August 20 during Monterey Car Week.
Porsche says the project started in
November 2021 when the Pixar team responsible for creating the Sally animation
20 years ago got their heads down with Porsche’s Sonderwunsch (“special wish”)
crew, designers from Style Porsche, and execs from Porsche Cars North America
to begin the 10-month process of turning the GTS into Sally Carrera. The
biggest connection is the unique “Sally Blue Metallic” paint that was developed
just for this project, but there are plenty of other detail changes to spot,
including Sally’s Von Dutch-style pinstripe tattoo that’s only visible when the
rear spoiler is raised.
Porsche stopped short of trying to cram
the 996’s runny-egg headlamps into the 992’s fenders, but it did create a set
of special five-spoke wheels that look just like the 18-inch 996 Turbo rims
worn by Sally, but measure 20-inches and 21-inches front and rear to work with
the newer 911’s suspension and body proportions. The winning bidder will also
get a second set of rims mounted on a custom-made rack and intended for track
use, along with a one-off chronograph from Porsche Design, a bespoke indoor car
cover, and a book charting the project’s development.
There’s more blue coloring inside,
including on the seats’ special cloth inserts, the steering wheel stitching,
dashboard, center console, and 911-shaped key. A script that reads “Sally
Special 001/001” makes it clear this is the sole example, and there are “Sally
Carrera” badges in the rear quarter windows and a “Cars” logo on each door
card. But our favorite detail is the rotary control fitted below the right-hand
steering wheel spoke. Instead of the boring “Drive Mode” text seen on regular
911s, this one says “Kachow! Mode”, a reference to the catchphrase uttered by
the actual star of the Cars movie franchise, Lightning McQueen.
And one more McQueen easter egg can be
found under the engine cover. A pop art-style graphic containing the words “GTS
powered” that is reminiscent of the flash on Lightning’s flanks outlines what’s
stashed in the engine bay. The standard Carrera GTS is powered by a 3.0-liter
turbocharged flat-six that makes 473 hp and 570 Nm of
torque and pushes the coupe to 97 km/h in 3.9 seconds.
A stock GTS will set you back US$ 142,600,
but Porsche will be hoping the RM Sotheby’s sale raises significantly more for
its two chosen charities. Girls Inc. helps young females across the U.S. and
Canada, while USA for UNHCR is dedicated to helping the 6.2 million refugees
that have been forced from their homes by the war in Ukraine.
