Someone Paid $2 Million For A Film-Famous Porsche 928

Porsche 928 prices are on the rise. The days of being able to get a tatty one for a few thousand quid are long gone, and if you have a really nice one that happens to have a manual gearbox, you could flog it for over £30,000. This 928, however, went for a tad more than that.

The 1979 928 sold for a whopping $1.98 million (around £1.44 million) at Barrett Jackson‘s recent Houston auction, all thanks to a Hollywood connection.

It was one of three 928s used in the production of 1983’s Risky Business (not the one that was ditched in Lake Michigan, before you ask), the film that launched Tom Cruise’s career. According to producer Jon Avnet, he taught Cruise how to drive a manual using this particular car.

It was originally white and subsequently resprayed gold to match the other 928s bought for the film. The Porsche is one of two 928s used in the filming Risky Business’ famous chase scene, which at one point involved Cruise uttering the company’s marketing slogan - “Porsche. There is no substitute.”

After filming wrapped, the 928 spent about 10 years in California, before it was unearthed and brought back to its Risky Business spec. Since then it’s lived in a climate-controlled space as part of a private car collection, but not permanently. Porsche Cars North America showcased it for a year, and it spent some time in the Petersen Museum‘s influential Porsche Effect Exhibit.

Bundled in the sale were photos of the car on set, plus “extensive documentation”. The latter included a letter from one Marvin Gruber expressing his “feelings about using a Porsche 928 in this production”. Having read the script, he concluded, “the majority of people who will see this film will, unfortunately not be representative of our target audience”. The 928 has also been signed by various cast members, but not, as far as we can tell, Mr Cruise.

The lack of a squiggle from Tom didn’t put off bidders. The Porsche’s near-$2 million achievement makes it the most expensive 928 ever sold at auction, and we’d imagine it’ll remain so for the foreseeable.