Retro sports car that ran over Tom Cruise in 1980s cult film goes on sale for £1.4m
A RETRO sports car that ran over Tom Cruise in an ’80s cult classic film has gone up for sale at £1.4 million.
The motor is believed to have been used to teach the US actor how to drive a manual as well as playing a prominent role in a star-making movie.
One of the most desirable cars of its era, the 1979 Porsche 928 was dubbed the Car of the Decade in its day.
Its gold bodywork, curvaceous design and sporty performance seemingly caught the eye of film director Paul Brickman.
So much so that Brickman gave it a starring turn in his 1983 coming-of-age flick Risky Business.
The film follows the misadventures and mishaps of a rich teen who wrecks his dad’s expensive car and turns his family home into a brothel in an attempt to cover the repair bills.
That teen was played by a then-21-year-old Tom Cruise, with the film generally cited as his breakout role.
In one of the most iconic scenes, the Porsche rolls off a pier and into Lake Michigan, running over Cruise on the way, after he forgets to put the handbrake on.
Three identical 928s were used in the filming and now one has gone up for sale at a whopping price.
Thankfully, it was not the one that took a dip in one of the Great Lakes so it remains in remarkable condition.
The classic motor features a plush brown leather interior with black trim, all completely pristine.
It also comes equipped with a rare and “desirable” five-speed transaxle (a combined transmission and axle), which apparently taught cruise how to shift gear.
And there’s even a lovely touch from the film’s cast inside, with various interior panels signed by stars plus some bearing well-known quotes from the script.
For an old car it can still really shift too, with a 230 horsepower engine laying down a 143 mph top speed – 3mph faster than the automatic version.
The famous movie motor is being offered by Bonham’s Auctioneers at their sale at the Quail Lodge and Golf Club in Carmel, California on August 16, starting at 7pm GMT.
A guide price of around £1.4 million accompanies the ad, though bidding could take the final cost well above that.
However, there is hope for UK buyers as the car cannot stay in California thanks to emissions rules.
Bonham’s state that the vehicle can only be sold to an out-of-state or international driver so it could easily find its way to Europe.
A spokesperson for the auction house said: “The 1980s were particularly fertile times for high school coming of age movies.
“But before Ferris Bueller took his day off in Cameron’s dad’s Ferrari, fellow Chicagoan Paul Brickman directed a young and largely unheard of actor from upstate New York by the name of Tom Cruise in the 1983 classic Risky Business.
“Co-starring heavily in the film—both in the plot, on the screen, and in the movie poster—is a gold Porsche 928.
“In addition to its on-film feature, it also figured prominently in Cruise’s own trajectory as an enthusiast and famous executor of his own stunts.
“At the start of filming, it is understood that Tom Cruise did not know how to drive a stick, so producer Jon Avnet claims to have taught him the craft of rowing your own on this car.”
It comes after an exceptionally rare Ferrari driven just a mile a day since the ’90s went up for sale at a similarly massive price.
