In the eyes of gearheads, Steve McQueen is best known for smoking the streets of San Francisco in a Ford Mustang during the seminal car chase classic "Bullitt." But this wasn't the only car-centric film he starred in. His unbridled love of auto racing led to him directing and starring in the 1971 passion project Le Mans. Filmed on location during the actual 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans race, the production was notoriously troubled as an accident led to a stunt driver losing their leg.

It bombed at the box office on release, but it's since become a cult classic for its realistic depiction of racing. Soon, the iconic Porsche 917K that starred in the movie will be heading to auction. Before it became a movie star car, this 1970 Porsche 917K wearing chassis number 917-024 was used as a Le Mans test car according to Forbes, where it set the fastest times at the event. Though it wasn't driven by McQueen in the movie, it was used for camera car duties and appeared throughout the 1970 Le Mans film. After starring in Le Mans, it was sold to a private Parisian collector and consigned to storage for over two decades, before being discovered in a warehouse in 2001.

Despite being covered in dust the 917 was "remarkably untouched" and was still wearing its original Firestone Super Sports GP tires. This year, it was given a thorough restoration job by Swiss specialists Graber Sportgarage using original parts. This was necessary because the original owner had prepared the car for the track and replaced the original frame with a more robust setup.

Powered by a sublime-sounding flat-12 engine, the 917K was the first Porsche to win Le Mans outright, starting its reign as the most successful manufacturer to compete in the endurance race. Given its racing pedigree and movie stardom, it's estimated that the Porsche 917K will fetch between $13 and $16 million when it crosses the auction block at Gooding & Company's Pebble Beach event in August. It's a rare chance to own one of the most iconic movie cars in history.