Pixar Partners with Porsche to Create a Real Sally Carrera 911, and She Could Be Yours
Scotty Reiss
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You can see Sally, plus some other great Porsches, at SXSW before she heads back to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart
When Pixar animators Bob Pauley and Jay Ward began work on the movie Cars, they envisioned the female lead, Sally, as a sleek, toned and agile coupe, a counter to her heftier co-star Lightning McQueen. In their minds, Sally was a Porsche 911. So they approached Porsche for permission and help to create a model for the film’s animation.
That partnership has blossomed into a Sally display at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, one of the museum’s most popular exhibits. And soon, a real, drivable, one of a kind Sally will be built for a lucky owner to drive away from an RM Sotheby’s auction.
Bob Pauley (l ) and Jay Ward (r) discuss their journey to bringing Sally to life. Photo: Scotty Reiss
How Sally Came to Life (it Took Some Convincing)
“You see the 911 as … female?” was the response from Porsche executives when the idea of basing Sally on the famous sports car was proposed. Perhaps they viewed the 911 much as their customers, who were mostly male, did: the stuff of adrenaline dreams and world class race tracks.
Bob and Jay were taken aback (aren’t all cars and boats and trucks and planes female?). But their vision was unshakable and they convinced the executives to help them to build a model so that the animation would have a real, relatable, car-like feel. Sally, and the rest of the characters in Radiator Springs, evoke so much emotion and human connection that Cars has become one of the most popular animated films of all time, with two sequels, a Disneyland attraction and unending oodles of merchandise.
The Sally collaboration between Porsche and Pixar. Photo: Scotty Reiss
Sally Struts the Red Carpet
The model for Sally actually became a real Sally, a modified 911 with an interior and an engine so she could drive the red carpet for the film’s debut. Afterward, she was part of a cross country tour to promote the film. Following the tour, Sally went into movie-prop retirement: A storage facility in California.
But Bob and Jay felt Sally really needed a better home, so they called Porsche to ask if the company would like Sally for the Porsche Museum. Porsche loved the idea and shipped her to Stuttgart where she was given a few touchups, needed after a long tour and idle time in storage.
Soon she was on display alongside other Porsche classics and quickly became the main attraction, the first thing so many visitors, especially children, want to see when they visit the museum.
The vision board for the commemorative Sally model that will be built. Photo: Scotty Reiss
Sally Turns 20— And What a Way to Celebrate!
And just like that, Sally is celebrating 20 years of delighting audiences. To commemorate, Porsche and Pixar wanted to create a collaboration, an idea that grew from something on paper to an actual, drivable Sally that will be built and auctioned by RM Sotheby’s to benefit children’s charities (more details on that as soon as they are sorted out).
There will only be one commemorative Sally built, and her design is a true collaboration between Bob, Jay and Porsche’s design team. The commemorative model will be painted the same glowing blue of the original Sally and will feature true-to-form details such as a light, clean interior with blue accents (all girls look beautiful in white), a unique Sally badge (because, bling) and custom wheels (shoes matter, of course!). The commemorative Sally will also feature the original’s tattoo just under the spoiler, an elegant and fun detail. What she won’t have are the animated features you’ll see on the original Sally: a mouth carved into the front bumper, or eyes and eyeliner on the windshield.
But probably what we love most about this design is that Sally has a manual transmission, a nod to the authenticity of Porsche and also, the purity and capability of driving. Because when it comes to getting things done, she’s got this.
Sally’s subtle tattoo. Photo: Scotty Reiss
See Sally At Porsche Unseen at SXSW
The project was announced at Porsche’s Unseen exhibit at the 2022 South by Southwest in Austin, where visitors can see Sally and snap a selfie with her, as well as one of the other model cars on display, all flown in from Germany for the event. The space is designed to give visitors the feeling of being on an artist’s desk, with enormous pencils, an eraser and cookies (because creativity demands snacks). The space inspires imagination and celebrates creativity; we love that it also celebrates cars, with Porsche and Pixar bringing Sally Carrera, one of our all-time favorite characters, to life.
Porsche Unseen runs from March 11-20 in Austin TX (4th and Congress) and features Porsche concept models, artistic interpretations and live music.
My paint matches Sally’s! Photo: Scotty Reiss