If your kids are of a certain age, you will certainly have spent many a Saturday morning with Pixar's Cars, Cars 2, and Cars 3 on hard DVD repeat. The colourful pean to playing with Matchboxes and Hot Wheels featured a stellar voice cast which included Owen Wilson, Larry The Cable Guy, Paul Newman (in one of his final roles), Michael Caine, and John Turturro and many more.
One of the great voices in the cast is actress and filmmaker Bonnie Hunt (sister to the equally famous Helen Hunt), who voiced Sally Carrera, a tough lawyer who just happened to have the body of a Porsche 911.
The character clearly struck a chord, as now Porsche has actually made a real one-off 911 that you can buy, which has been inspired by the character of Sally.
Sally was based on a late-model 996-version of the 911, but this road-going one-off is based around the current 992 edition.
The project to create a genuine Sally Carrera started back in 2021. The team that created the car included Jay Ward, Creative Director of Franchise at Pixar Animation Studios, and Bob Pauley, the Production Designer who first drew Sally Carrera for the Cars film. They were assisted by members of the Sonderwunsch team at Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur in Stuttgart and designers from Style Porsche in Weissach.
"We had great fun creating 911 Sally Special and it's the first time we've worked on a project of this kind," said Jay Ward, Creative Director of Franchise of Pixar Animation Studios. "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?"
"911 Sally Special is based on the fastest and most agile variant of the 911 line, the 480hp GTS. The car is equipped with a manual gearbox, tapping into Sally Carrera's passion for driving," explains Boris Apenbrink, Director of Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur vehicles. "The customisation elements are detailed and extensive. 911 Sally Special was one of the most intense, emotional and detailed Sonderwunsch projects our team has worked on. One example is that the car is painted in Sallybluemetallic, a custom paint that was hand-applied specifically for this project. We also thought of Sally's tattoo, of course. Implementing that was a very special challenge."
Although the originally drawn Sally is a Carrera, her wheels are more like contemporary 911 Turbo rims, so these have been re-created and updated for the new model.
Porsche interior designer Daniela Milošević led the team that worked with Pixar to design the new blue colour as well as the vehicle's interior. "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," says Milošević. "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. 911 Sally Special is meant to be driven often and gladly. We developed a special Pepita houndstooth fabric upholstery in three colours, combined with chalk-coloured 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 special 911 also comes with a special one-off chronograph watch, created for the car by Porsche Design. It gets Sallybluemetallic highlights and stitching as well as a chalk-coloured leather strap. The car, when auctioned, will also come with a custom car cover and a spare set of alloy wheels, which are a unique design.
RM Sotheby's will auction the one-off car on the 20th of August as part of Monterey Car Week in California. Auction proceeds will be donated to two charities. A portion of the proceeds will benefit young women through a donation to Girls Inc. The second portion will go to USA for UNHCR, an organisation that supports refugees from Ukraine.
"We are grateful to Porsche and to Pixar for their commitment to this project, which will directly benefit our work," said Stephanie J. Hull, PhD, Girls Inc. President & CEO. "The character of Sally, and what she represents, is a great role model for young girls and it is fitting that she should be helping a new generation achieve their dreams." The United Nations Refugee Agency supports more than 6.2 million refugees who have been forced to flee their homes due to the war in Ukraine. "The majority of those forced to flee Ukraine are women and children, among them unaccompanied children and those separated from their parents," said Anne-Marie Grey, Executive Director and CEO of USA for UNHCR. "But there is reason to hope with the critical support of companies like Porsche and Pixar who have generously stepped up to help ensure their safety and protection in months to come."