When 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.

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, limited-slip differential 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.

“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.”

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 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$&@&!’" Read More