Steve McQueen - Le Mans

[steveW]

I've just been watching Steve McQueen in 'Le Mans' and would like to know if anyone can remember whether David Piper was in the 'Ferrari' or 'Porsche' that crashed. Also, was it a geniune car or one of those rebodied Lola T70s?

Another that really struck me about the movie was the number of 911s featured - brilliant.

I haven't seen the book, but I would imaginethe answers to all my questions are in it.

By the way, I watched a Cayenne doing some impressively fast laps around a race track the other day and it looked soooo out of place, but it goes.....

[M. Hendrix]

I dunno, but I drove one of McQueen's cars once, I've also had sex with women, I'd sure love to drive that car again.



M

[masraum]

I need to get that movie on DVD now that it's out!

[Chuck Miller]

Get the book Steve... (almost) all questions will be answered... and a lot that you havn't even thought of...

If your into McQueen and into the movie, the book (French Kiss With Death) is a must.

Cheers,

[steveW]

Chuck, have you seen the price of THAT book?

Seriously, I'd love it, but can't justify it at the moment.

[Chuck Miller]

Steve,

Check the title out on Amazon. COM... not to bad

Then there's the shipping of course...

Big book, lots of good text, and lots of GREAT b/w pics... well worth it...

Interesting fact:
Reading the book you'll realize that Jo Siffert was the organizer/broker/driving coordinator/and general pivot between THE CARS and THE PEOPLE...
There's a couple of pics of Siffert's personal race mechanics that tended the race cars for the movie. One of the mechanics is Hugo Shibbling (sp?) who later followed Siffert to the States for the 917 CanAM effort.

Well... if you want to find Hugo today, he's in the engine room at Kevin Buckler's The Racer's Group ... Last years GT winner of Le Mans, and Daytona....

............. and so it goes

Cheers,,

[elbean]

Did someone say McQueen?
this picture was taken by a friend of mine who used to work for AP and covered alot of racing. I always liked it and he finally sold it to me.

[cegerer]

Piper crashed in a 917. I've got a photo at home. I'll post later tonight. Not much left of the car ....... it's amazing he survived.

[Chuck Miller]

Great picture Mark!!!... looks to me like early 60's

Your title says 69'-S ... One of McQueen's S's was a 69' - Slate-Grey (like all of'em) I believe Chad McQueen owns it now.

cegerer is right of course... Piper lost a leg in that one... they give credit to it at the end of the movie.

If ya want to see David Piper just go to any of the big European vintage races and you'll see'em 'kickin' everyone's ass in any of a number of his 'Piper Green' vintage cars... saw him at Le Mans in 2000' in the vintage Ferrari race killin' the completion to win in his 'green' 250 LM.........

....... and so it goes

[Bob's Flat-Six]

Great shot and if I'm not mistaken he's wearing a pair of Persol's like these.

[cegerer]

I guess I was mistakenly thinking of this foto of the fatal Wolfe crash in 1969:

[cegerer]

Found it. Here's the Piper car. Or should I say, what's left of it.

[cegerer]

BTW: the Wolfe and Piper accidents were the 2 worst in the history of the 917. They happened within 100 yards of each other, but in different years. -- Curt

[GIBSON]

Curt, thanks for posting those photos. I've always wondered what the customer racing department at Porsche was thinking selling that 917 to a privateer like Wolfe. It's always seemed to me a bit like the Air Force selling a prototype F-18 to a private pilot. That early car was so unstable even Brian Redman gets nervous talking about driving it to this day. Wolfe didn't have a chance. Piper was just plain lucky all he lost was a leg.

[Wayne 962]

In the movie, they didn't destroy any Porsches or Ferraris. In the 917 crash scene, you can easily see the other car's bodywork underneath the 917 bodywork. It's yellow, and you can see the other number too underneath. Needless to say, they didn't expect the body work to come flying off...

-Wayne

[911]

Originally posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts
In the movie, they didn't destroy any Porsches or Ferraris. In the 917 crash scene, you can easily see the other car's bodywork underneath the 917 bodywork. It's yellow, and you can see the other number too underneath. Needless to say, they didn't expect the body work to come flying off...

-Wayne

Wayne's correct. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the car used in the 917 crash was the same, yellow Lola that was involved in the first spin in the movie (when it was raining and the Porsche & Ferrari camps were waiting to see who would come in first).

Are we Porsche nuts, or what? I bet there are numerous guys on this forum who have seen that movie at least 100 times.

[emcon5]

Isn't that Vic Elford?

[911]

emcon5,

Yes, it does look like Vic, doesn't it?

[cstreit]

Don't see his telltale cigarette though, must be an imposter.

[Oldporsche]

Among the boners that I've pulled in my past, I can recall a couple things.

I was stationed in Germany when Steve McQueen was filming LaMans. They were looking for english speaking "extras". I could have taken some leave and driven over to the site.

Another one was an invitation to visit the Porsche factory offered to me by Gieselia Pietch! I thanked her nicely but declined. I was a Vette guy then.

And so it goes,
David Duffield