Do you remember the 2006 major motion picture Cars? While those of us in the original target demographic grew up, the series never went away. It got sequels, spinoffs starring Dane Cook, and is now getting its own Disney+ streaming show.
Perfect timing, then, for a collaboration with a major automaker. Of course, you can’t really replicate Lightning McQueen’s stock-car body on anything street-legal, and I’m not sure anyone would want to drive around in Mater. But replicating Sally Carrera’s bright blue paint and twisted Turbo-style wheels on a modern Porsche 911? That can be done. Witness the 2022 Porsche 911 Sally Special, a real-life tribute to Sally Carrera from the Pixar series.
The movie character was an early 996-model 911, with the most controversial of Porsche headlights, but its styling cues work well on the current model 911. The Turbo twist wheels get a modern facelift, echoing the old wheel without outright copying it. They look fantastic, playing off the Sally Blue paint.
Of course, something has to drive those wheels, and the Sally Special gets the kind of performance you’d expect from a one-off Porsche. It borrows the 911 GTS’s engine and seven-speed manual gearbox, meaning the little blue car has 473 horsepower on tap.
We never saw Sally’s interior in the original movie, likely due to the (theoretical) presence of a horrifying emaciated husk of a person using the car as an advanced life support device, but the Sally Special’s insides are far more appealing. The Sally Blue colour extends to the interior trim, making appearances on the dashboard, centre console, and the shift knob. The seats wear a unique black, blue, and white houndstooth pattern, and they have spoiled me for every other interior upholstery. None have looked this good, and none ever will again.
The interior gets some Cars accoutrement too, from embossed logos in the leather to a Kachow Mode knob on the steering wheel. There’s even a little drawing of Sally herself, next to the Sally Special badging — marking a unique one-of-one Porsche, of course.
That’s right, there will only ever be one Sally Special. The car is headed to the RM Sotheby’s auction at Monterey Car Week, with all proceeds going to benefit charities including Girls, Inc. and UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. A great car for a great cause — what’s better than that?
Whoever wins the auction will not only get the car, but a series of extras with it. A titanium watch, a car cover, the 302PCE plates that replicate those Sally wears in the film, and a set of track wheels and tires. After all, the Sally Special is a GTS — the patrician enthusiast’s Porsche. Why not take it for a few laps?
And yes, before you ask. They got her tattoo right.