Michael Fassbender Races a Porsche 911 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Article Highlights:
- Michael Fassbender wants to compete in Le Mans
- Fassbender’s 911 Cup car costs an absurd amount of money
- The perils of endurance racing
Honestly, well done Porsche. It’s not very often a manufacturer puts out content that rivals full-on big-budget series like “Drive to Survive,” let alone one that is so entertaining to watch. For those of you that haven’t figured it out already, we’re talking about “Road to Le Mans,” a series that contains Michael Fassbender, a Porsche 911 race car, and the actor’s pursuit of a victory at the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
Michael Fassbender races to the 24 Hours of Le Mans
It is, in a word, fantastic. The series manages to pull the same trick that makes “Drive to Survive” so interesting to watch. Rather than focus on the racing, the cars, and the nerdy bits and pieces that surround it, Porsche tells a story. Watching it (which you can do on YouTube), you care about Michael’s pursuit up through the ranks that lead up to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Perhaps it’s because Michael Fassbender is, y’know, an actor. But it doesn’t feel like he’s acting when he crashes his Porsche 911 cup car in the first episode. It’s heartbreaking, and one can’t help but feel for the guy. The first episode gives off a sort of “first day on the job” vibe from Fassbender, and you feel overwhelmed with him. On top of that, “Road to Le Mans” makes you want to race, aligning your feeelins with the same ones that likely put Fassbender in the place he is now.
How much is Fassbender’s Porsche 911?
The other aspect of the YouTube series that’s so appealing is the stakes. Unlike the spaceship-looking Formula 1 car driven by Lewis Hamilton, those with an iota of automotive experience can imagine what it’s like to actually drive the car Michael Fassbender is in. You feel for him when he struggles in his Porsche 911 cup car. Which, by the way, costs around $220,000. Not cheap to be sure, which only adds to the stakes.
That, combined with Fassbender’s relative lack of experience makes everything feel so much more attainable. Famous celebrity or not, when that Irish flag helmet goes on, he’s just a dude in a race car. Maybe you could be the dude in the race car one day. That’s the appeal, and why the series is such a great marketing tool for Porsche. But, that’s not to say that Fassbender racing a Porsche 911 around a wet Hockenheim isn’t impressive if a little superhuman. It is.
Endurance racing takes real talent
On top of that, you get to see Michael grow as a racing driver as the series, now in its third season, progresses. In short, it’s an incredible show that tells a story about some guy in a Porsche 911 that wants to go really fast for a really long time. It invests you in it by making Fassbender’s pursuit seem human. Again, well done Porsche.
