The Porsche 928 From ‘Risky Business’ Is About to Go Up for Grabs
Here’s your chance to buy the car that helped make Tom Cruise a household name.
A gold 1979 Porsche 928 that the actor drove in his breakout movie, Risky Business, will be auctioned off by Bonhams during Monterey Car Week. The car is one of three examples used during the filming of the ‘80s classic.
There may be no more important year in Tom Cruise’s career than 1983. That year, he was part of the ensemble for Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders and scored starring roles in All the Right Moves and Risky Business. The last of those films, in which Cruise plays Joel Goodson, a high school senior who turns his parent’s house into a brothel while they’re on vacation, was the one that turned the actor into a genuine movie star.
Bonhams
Although a film with the plot of Risky Business likely wouldn’t get made today, it was a critical and commercial hit back in 1983. In one of the film’s most famous scenes, Cruise is behind the wheel of the 928 while trying to outrun one of his competitors driving a Cadillac Coupe Deville. Some slick driving, as well as the car’s potent V-8, allow Joel and his passengers to get out of trouble, at which point he stares into the camera and utters one of the film’s most famous lines: “Porsche. There is no substitute.”
The 928 that will be auctioned off by Bonham’s is said to be the one used to film the movie’s chase scene (and is also the car Cruise learned to drive stick in). The luxe grand tourer was finished in white when it left the factory but was painted “Platinum Metallic” for the movie and features a tan leather interior. Under the hood, you’ll find a 4.47-liter SOHC V-8 with Bosch Jetronic fuel injection. The mill is mated to a five-speed transaxle manual and produces 227 hp. The vehicle was acquired by its current owner in 2021 and has spent the last three years in storage.
Bonham’s will auction off the Risky Business 928 as part of its annual Quail Auction during Monterey Car Week. The auction house expects the car to sell for between $1.4 million and $1.8 million, both of which would represent a decent discount from the nearly $2 million the car sold for in 2021.
Click here for more photos of the 1979 Porsche 928 from Risky Business.
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