Porsche 917

Simone — The Legend of Le Mans

The Story

Some race cars become legends because of the victories they achieve. Others become something even greater, capturing the imagination of generations who never witnessed them compete.

The Porsche 917 belongs to both worlds.

Born from Porsche's ambition to conquer the world's most demanding endurance races, the 917 became one of the most extraordinary racing machines of its era. Its combination of extraordinary speed, unmistakable design, and relentless engineering helped establish Porsche as a dominant force in international endurance racing.

But for many enthusiasts, the image of a Gulf-liveried Porsche 917 carries another memory.
In 1971, Steve McQueen brought the intensity and emotion of endurance racing to the screen in Le Mans. Behind the wheel of the iconic number 20 Gulf Porsche 917K, his character Michael Delaney introduced audiences to a world where courage, competition, and the pursuit of speed were inseparable.

Simone — The Legend of Le Mans celebrates that connection between racing history and the stories that keep it alive. Her unmistakable powder blue and orange livery, aggressive stance, and bold racing number recall an era when motorsport demanded everything from the people and machines involved.

I've always been fascinated by the way certain cars become part of our lives long before we ever see them in person. Sometimes that connection begins with a movie, a photograph, a magazine, or even a small die-cast car we played with as kids. Those early experiences have a way of staying with us, shaping our passions and the automobiles we dream about owning.

For me, that's part of what makes the Porsche 917 so special. It's more than an incredible piece of engineering or a beautiful race car. It's a machine that has inspired generations of enthusiasts, builders, collectors, and artists to imagine themselves standing in the pits at Le Mans, listening to the engines echo down the Mulsanne Straight.

When I create a painting like Simone, I'm not simply trying to capture the shape of the car. I'm trying to bring back that feeling—the excitement, the nostalgia, and the passion that first made us fall in love with automobiles.

Simone is a tribute to the drivers who challenged the limits of endurance racing, the engineers who made extraordinary performance possible, and the generations of enthusiasts who have kept their stories alive.
Because some legends aren't remembered simply for the races they won.
They're remembered for the dreams they inspired.