Porsche built a real life road-legal version of Sally from Cars that was truly 1-of-1 and it sold for millions

Porsche teamed up with Pixar to bring one of the most beloved characters from Disney’s Cars to life, creating a real-world sports car that could actually be driven on public roads, a real-life Sally Carrera.

The one-off Porsche 911 Sally Special was inspired by the blue Porsche who helps Lightning McQueen settle into Radiator Springs.

Built to celebrate the character’s 20th anniversary, the unique car combined familiar movie details with a modern, road-legal Porsche.

And when it went under the hammer in California, it fetched millions of dollars, with the entire sale price going to charity.

Porsche and Pixar teamed up to bring Sally to life

In March 2022, Porsche announced that it was working with Pixar Animation Studios to create a brand-new 911 inspired by Sally Carrera.

In the original Cars film, Sally is based on a 2002 Porsche 911 Carrera.

She leaves her former life in California behind to become a lawyer in Radiator Springs, where she helps the town’s residents and becomes one of Lightning McQueen’s closest friends.

The real-life Sally Special project began in November 2021, bringing together members of the original Cars creative team, including production designer Bob Pauley and Pixar’s creative director of franchise, Jay Ward.

They worked alongside Porsche’s Style Porsche design team and specialists from Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur in Germany to create the unique car over approximately ten months.

It was also a first for Pixar, which had never collaborated on a project of this kind before, and the Porsche/Pixar collab was spectacular.

The goal was to capture Sally’s personality in a car that could be driven in the real world, rather than simply building a movie prop.

The one-off Porsche had custom details inspired by the movie

Underneath the movie-inspired makeover, the Sally Special was based on the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, one of the sportiest models in the Carrera range at the time.

Porsche gave it a manual gearbox to reflect Sally’s love of driving, while its bespoke details helped distinguish it from any other 911 on the road.

The most obvious feature was its specially developed Sally Blue Metallic paint, which was applied by hand, and the distinctive shade also appeared inside the car, tying the exterior to the cabin.

The wheels were another special touch, because Porsche designers reinterpreted Sally’s five-spoke, Turbo-style rims for the modern 911, creating a design that referenced the original character’s 996-generation inspiration.

Inside, the car featured bespoke Pepita houndstooth fabric upholstery in three colors, Chalk leather and Speed Blue stitching.

The team also incorporated Sally’s tattoo into the design, giving the real-life car another playful nod to its animated counterpart.

Porsche wanted the car to be used and enjoyed, too, so the team made sure its special touches did not compromise everyday practicality.

The winning bidder also received a unique Porsche Design chronograph created to match the car, a second set of wheels, a custom car cover, a book documenting the project and original design sketches from Porsche and Pixar.

How much Porsche’s real-life Sally sold for

The unique 911 went up for auction at RM Sotheby’s during Monterey Car Week in California on August 20, 2022.

It attracted significant interest, with the winning bid coming from a telephone bidder, and the final hammer price was $3.6 million, setting a record for a new Porsche sold at auction at the time, according to the auction house.

But the money raised was about much more than securing an extraordinary car collection.

Porsche confirmed that every dollar of the $3.6 million sale price would be donated to two charities: Girls Inc., which supports and empowers girls and young women, and USA for UNHCR, which helps refugees, including families displaced by the war in Ukraine.

The auction also brought together members of the original Cars creative team, including Bonnie Hunt, who voiced Sally, alongside Jay Ward and Bob Pauley.

The project gave fans a chance to see a beloved animated character reimagined as a genuine sports car, complete with its own distinctive personality and a road-legal specification.

And while Lightning McQueen might have been the star of the Cars franchise, the real-life Sally Carrera certainly had her moment in the spotlight.