This car, Lot 125, sold for $747,500, including buyer’s premium, at Broad Arrow Auctions’ Costa Mesa, CA, sale, on April 27, 2024.
When the FIA ended the 917/10 and 917/30 prototype era, the first RSRs followed, the 1973 2.8-liter and the 1974 3.0-liter. Both cars were successful. In 1973, RSRs won the Targa Florio, Daytona 24 Hours, Sebring 12 Hours, five major championships (IMSA GT, Trans-Am, GT World Cup, European Cup, European Hillclimb) and seven national championships. Between 1974–75, the RSR saw 10 more major championships plus 20 national championships and another Daytona 24 Hours victory. RSRs were established as Porsche’s do-it-all normally aspirated race cars.
With the arrival of the turbo era’s 934 and 935 racers, some teams continued to race RSRs in lower classes and series because they were safe, reliable and relatively inexpensive to run. RSRs came back into prominence with the 1993 964 3.8-liter RSR and its successors, including the ex-Flying Lizard Motorsports 997 RSR that is our subject here.
When lizards flew
Seth Neiman achieved financial success in computer networking before forming Flying Lizards Motorsports in 2003. Based in Sonoma, CA, the team raced Porsche 911 variants for 13 years. Porsche provided both team support and drivers from 2007 to ’12. With a catchy name and a memorable paint scheme (usually silver with red trim), the team became a fan favorite. It won five IMSA GT2 series and drivers’ championships.
In its early years, 2004–06, the independent team placed 2nd once and 3rd twice in IMSA’s GT2 class with drivers Darren Law, Johannes van Overbeek, Jon Fogarty and Wolf Henzler. Porsche watched carefully.
Porsche Motorsports came aboard in 2007, adding Jörg Bergmeister in the no. 45 car with van Overbeek and Marc Lieb for endurance races. The no. 44 car had Neiman, Law and Lonnie Pechnik. The lead car won three races including Petit Le Mans, and placed 2nd behind Risi Competizione’s Ferrari in that season’s GT2 series.
In 2008, the Lizards added a third car. The lead no. 45 car now had Bergmeister, Henzler and Lieb. It won the ALMS GT2 Championship, while Bergmeister and Henzler won the drivers’ championship. Back to two cars for 2009 with Patrick Long joining, the no. 45 beat back the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing BMW and again won the championship, winning six of 10 races. Bergmeister and Long won the 2009 driver’s championship. In 2010, the no. 45 car remained with Bergmeister, Long and Lieb. With strong opposition from BMWs and Ferraris, the no. 45 car placed 2nd overall, and the Bergmeister/Long duo again won the drivers’ championship.
In 2011 a brand-new 997.2-series GT3 RSR came online, and Flying Lizard fielded two of them. The competition improved with their upgrades. Flying Lizard’s no. 45 car placed 3rd in the series, and the drivers finished 4th. Finally, 2012 was the last year of Porsche factory team status for the Flying Lizards. Two new RSRs joined the effort, but the team struggled, finishing 4th in the championship.
Throughout the factory-backed era, the no. 45 car was the big winner. That’s important because our subject car was one of the no. 45 Lizards cars.
Reptilian redesign
Troy Lee was a Southern California kid who loved motocross. Out of high school, he began sign painting as a day job, while painting racing helmets in his off hours. Five years later, he launched Troy Lee Designs in Corona, CA, and became known for wildly colorful helmet designs. Later, he added motorcycle gear to his canvas — even bikes themselves — and finally a racing team.
Flying Lizard asked Lee to prepare an RSR for the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Lizards’ “art car” was born. It was the successful no. 45 Bergmeister/van Overbeek RSR, renumbered 80 for Le Mans duty.
As Flying Lizard Motorsport describes it, “On-site in Le Mans for the event, Troy Lee added custom details to the design, using chrome and color to add dimension to the Lizard as it wrapped over the car front to back. ‘I started by thinking about the Lizard’s character and looked to the color and texture of real lizards for inspiration. I think a race car should be colorful and interesting and look like it’s traveling 200 mph even while it is standing still. The Porsche is a pretty aggressive car, with a high and wide profile; it was a perfect surface on which to bring the Lizard to life,’ commented Lee. He added, ‘I wanted the art car to have a 3D look by using chrome to give it some depth so the car looks different from all sides. Designing the car was one thing, but seeing the car realized in full scale there on track at Le Mans was incredible. It was a dream accomplishment as an artist.’”
Unfortunately, the Le Mans effort was short-lived. With Bergmeister, van Overbeek and Neiman driving, the car failed to finish, with a blown gearbox on the 124th lap, about 40% into the race. Its final result was 43rd overall out of 54 starters. This sad end did not diminish the public’s enthusiastic reception of the car; it was famous now. Troy painted two additional Lizards RSRs for 2011 Le Mans. One of those cars is in a large Porsche collection in the U.S., and, per internet chatter, one is possibly in the Porsche Museum.
A winner at auction
In 2009, a Flying Lizard RSR was restored by Jerry Woods to the Troy Lee 2007 Le Mans livery and sent to RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction that year. As Lot 526, the car did not sell against a presale estimate of $250k–$300k.
The same 2007 “art car” was at Rennsport Reunion VI and VII in the hands of Martijn van Woerkom. Recently consigned to Broad Arrow Auction’s sale in Costa Mesa, it benefited from engine work in 2018 by well-regarded shops in Florida and from a decent spares package. Experts said that this RSR was retubbed after Le Mans, so it never actually raced in the Troy Lee livery.
With a presale estimate of $650k–$750k, the car hammered for $675k, for an all-in price of $747,500. For reference, a 2007 RSR track-day car with 5,500 km is for sale in Munich, asking $505k. Another 997.1-series RSR, unraced, at this same Board Arrow Auction event, was a no-sale at $500k.
As one of the most successful Flying Lizard RSRs, the 2007–08 no. 45 cars, restored in the Le Mans Troy Lee artwork, the car was worth its sale price. A fair deal all around. ♦
(Introductory description courtesy of Broad Arrow Auctions.)
