Movie enthusiasts remember the 1995 Bad Boys film as an action-packed box-office production because of its unending flying bullets and car crashes. At the same time, it gave automotive buffs a chance to see some of the industry’s top cars, yet the one that caught the eyes of many was the 1994 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6, driven by Will Smith’s character Mike Lowry. 

Michael Bay, the movie’s producer and the person behind Will Smith’s rise to fame as one of Hollywood’s top celebrities owned the black Porsche featured in the film. It’s now 25 years since the movie was released, and the car, which Bay sold for tens of thousands of dollars, fetched over a million dollars in an auction in January 2022.

Michael Bay sells the 1995 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6 from ‘Bad Boys’

Viewers of the 1995 Bad Boys movie are first introduced to the two-door 911 in the opening scene when Mike Lowry (Will Smith) is driving the car on a freeway, alongside his cop partner Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence). Many people don’t know that the Porsche was one of Bay’s cars. 

After the film’s production and release, the car garnered more popularity, topping many collectors’ and car buffs’ priority lists. Bay did the obvious thing and sold it. He was compelled to lend the car to the production because the studio didn’t have the money to rent one, and Porsche was reluctant to support the movie.  

Michael Bay sold the vehicle to Pat Sandston for $60,000 in 1995. Several people have owned the car afterward. It turns out Sandston owned the car for ten years, after which he sold it to an unnamed individual in 2005. Three years later, the owner sold it to Matthew Drendel, and the previous owner bought back the car in 2014. 

Porsche 911 from ‘Bad Boys’ fetches $1.3 million in auction

While the newly released 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo has every feature to make a high-spirited driver grin, the 1994 model draws interest from many collectors. As highlighted on DuPont Registry, they finally got the chance to bid for the vehicle in a recent Mecum auction that took place in Kissimmee, FL, where it sold for $1.3 million. 

The auction news reached Michael Bay, who didn’t hold back his regret for selling the car. CinemaBlend dug into Bay’s Instagram account, where he notes, “Can you believe my personal Porsche that I put in Bad Boys just sold for $1.3 million? Boy was I stupid. I sold it to a friend because I like him, but he sold it for $45,000.”

The black 1994 Porsche 911 has undergone extensive modifications. Even after racking up 34,396 miles on the odometer, the car still boasts top-notch performance. Under its hood is a 3.6-liter turbocharged flat-six engine that delivers 355 hp and 384 lb-ft of torque. With such an engine, the iconic sports car goes from 0 to 60 mph in four seconds before reaching a maximum speed of 175 mph.

Why air-cooled Porsche 911’s are so valuable

After halting the manufacture of the Porsche 356, the German automaker started working on its first Porsche 911. Borrowing from its predecessor, the 911 also featured a rear, air-cooled six-cylinder engine which sat over the driven wheels. That meant improved traction, and when combined with the well-tuned suspension and responsive steering, the car quickly became a fans’ favorite.

The car underwent several upgrades over the years, resulting in popular trims like the Turbo and Carrera. Porsche began working on the 964-generation in 1989, manufacturing the car over the following five years. In fact, the air-cooled 1994 Porsche 911 was the last model of the 964-gen line. Porsche only rolled out 350 models that year. 

It’s not the car’s limited number that makes it so valuable, but its air-cooled engine. The engine is lighter than its water-cooled counterparts. It also has a more straightforward construction as it doesn’t have a water pump or radiator, meaning fewer parts fail. Together with the engine’s quality construction, all these characteristics make the 911 valuable.