WATCH: Porsche unveils one-off 'Cars'-inspired 911 Sally Special

MANILA: The iconic Sally Carrera from the Disney and Pixar animated film Cars served as inspiration for a very special Porsche that the car marque and animation studios showcased. The Porsche 911 Sally Special is unique just like Sally Carrera. There will only be one 911 Sally Special, and Pixar has never before given such a project its support.

On August 20, as part of Monterey Car Week in California, RM Sotheby's will hold an auction for the unique automobile. Two charities will get the auction's revenues. Girls, Inc. will receive a share of the money as a benefit for young women. The second share will go to the United States for UNHCR, a group that helps Ukrainian refugees.

“Vehicles need a face and a story. And the animated Pixar's film 'Cars' has impressively done just that: brought cars to life on the big screen,” Porsche Vice President for Communications, Sustainability and Politics Dr. Sebastian Rudolph said.

“The story conveys values such as friendship, love and mutual support — and in the middle of it all is a Porsche: 'Sally Carrera.' Together with Pixar, we have brought the spirit of Sally to life in a new way, not on the screen, but off the screen. With this one-off street legal 911, the ‘Sally Special,’ which we are auctioning for charity, we want to help people who urgently need support, quite in keeping with the spirit of the film character.”

Members of the original Cars team who created the movie character and life-size Sally Carrera over 20 years ago reunited for the project, which started in November 2021. The crew includes Bob Pauley, the production designer who originally drew Sally Carrera for the Cars movie, and Jay Ward, the Creative Director of Franchise at Pixar Animation Studios.

They received assistance from designers from Style Porsche in Weissach and members of the Sonderwunsch team at Porsche Exclusive Manufactur in Stuttgart. The crew collaborated for 10 months, and the end product is a distinctive manufacturing one-off.

“We had great fun creating 911 Sally Special and it's the first time we've worked on a project of this kind," Pixar Animation Studios Creative Director of Franchise Jay Ward. “We decided early on that we wanted to create a completely drivable 911 — inspired by Sally Carrera, but just not an exact copy. Sally Carrera loves to drive — that was our inspiration. We asked ourselves: if Sally were built today as a road-approved model, what would she look like?"

Based on the 480ps 911 Carrera GTS, the quickest and most maneuverable model in the 911 Carrera model range, the Porsche 911 Sally Special has a manual transmission, capturing Sally Carrera's love of driving, explains, Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur Director Boris Apenbrink.

One of the most intense, emotional, and meticulous Sonderwunsch projects to work on was the Porsche 911 Sally Special. One illustration is the Sallybluemetallic custom paint that was hand-applied especially for this job on the car. Sally's tattoo was incorporated, which posed a unique challenge, Apenbrink added.

Weissach-based Style Porsche designers reimagined the Turbo-look rims from the Sally Carrera and had them made specifically for the Porsche 911 Sally Special. The "five-arm design" rim, which has a visual resemblance to the 911 Type 996 upon which Sally Carrera is based, was modified to fit the 20- and 21-inch wheel measurements of the current 911 generation.

The group that collaborated with Pixar to develop the interior of the car and the new blue color was led by Porsche interior designer Daniela Milošević. “We were given complete freedom, which was great! In the film, Sally Carrera was a lawyer from California who valued style and elegance. At the same time, she was down-to-earth and fun-loving,” Miloševic illustrated.

“The special Sallybluemetallic is used in the interior as well, where it creates both obvious highlights and subtle details that will hopefully bring a smile to the future owner's face. At the same time, it was important to us not to forget everyday usability and practicality,” the designer added.

“(The Porsche) 911 Sally Special is meant to be driven often and gladly. We developed a special Pepita houndstooth fabric upholstery in three colors, combined with chalk-colored leather and stitching in Speed Blue. Working out these details makes the project special and brings back a lot of memories of the movie and Sally Carrera."

The auction features other attractions in addition to the vehicle itself, with the most notable being a special chronograph made by Porsche Design and Pixar. The colored ring is painted Sallybluemetallic, same as the 911 Sally Special automobile. The distinctive watch's sporty appearance is emphasized by the strap's chalk-colored leather and Speed Blue stitching.

Without using any equipment, the strap may be quickly and simply exchanged for a second strap in Speed Blue with chalk-colored stitching. The chronograph includes a limited-edition marking on the back of the case, much like the car.

The one-of-a-kind item is driven by a Porsche Design WERK 01.100 movement that has received Contrôle officiel suisse des Chronomètres (COSC) certification. Precision engineering and production of the 911 Sally Special Chronograph took place at Porsche's own wristwatch facility in Solothurn, Switzerland.

A unique indoor vehicle cover from Porsche Tequipment, a wheel rack with an extra set of Carrera Exclusive Design wheels, a book on the creation and development of the one-of-a-kind model, and original drawings by designers Shuichi Yamashita and Bob Pauley will also be included in the auction.

Watch the unveiling of the 911 Sally Special here.

Photos from Porsche

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