AUSTIN, Texas — Cool cars are essential to the “Transformers” movie franchise, with vehicles like the Chevy Camaro inextricably linked to Autobots characters like Bumblebee. The star car of the latest installment, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” out June 9, is the rare and venerable Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.8, which transforms into Mirage, the elusive Autobot voiced by Pete Davidson. Little is known about the movie and Mirage other than what fans can glean from the 30-second teaser of the film that debuted during the recent Super Bowl. But it’s clear that the silver and blue-striped classic Porsche plays a major role as it’s leading man Anthony Ramos’ ride, and he can create multiple versions of himself to evade the police and possibly any Decepticons following him. At South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, this past weekend, the movie’s producers and some of the Porsche executives who supported the film’s production shared a stage and shared a little more about the iconic car’s role and what it takes to create a classic Porsche. . For the rigors of a big-budget action movie. Only 55 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.8s were built as a one-off homologation special for the 3.8 RSR racecar, and the model has sold for over $1.5 million at auction. So replicas had to be made for the film. “We don’t want to destroy such a historic car,” said Owen Shively, CEO of RTTM, which represents Porsche Cars North America in entertainment and product placement. Shively supervised the building of 911 Carrera RS 3.8 replicas. “I’ve never even seen one, but I had to go out and make five of them in very short order,” he said. It helps that, while the 911 Carrera RS 3.8 is unique, it shares a chassis with 911s spanning more than three decades. “It has the same general shell,” Shively said. “That’s what the 911 tub allows us to do from 1965 to 1998. You can use that base and build it into an RS 3.8.” When it came to sourcing parts to build authentic replicas for the movie, set in 1994, it also helped that Shively knew 1990s Porsches and their many owners. “I was fortunate that in the ’90s I worked at a Porsche shop in Reno called Sport House managing the parts department,” Shively said. “With my background in motorsports and Porsche, we were able to go to owners and find spare parts. People just opened their garages to us.” “It’s a very unique thing,” said filmmaker Lorenzo di Bonaventura. “I’ve worked with a lot of brands, but the passion and willingness of Porsche owners to give was amazing — and We benefited from it. I’ve never seen so much enthusiasm for something they own.” Another challenge was keeping the replicas running and ready for the Mirage scenes. “We brought in technicians from Porsche so that if something went wrong, they could work on them on the spot and can maintain them overnight so that production can continue,” said Scott Baker, director of marketing communications for Porsche Cars North America. Location calls were usually at 3 a.m., Baker added. “And this is not one day, but a week they’re doing something like that. Adjusting things that can happen in a shot sequence. And if the car needs fixing.” “And it wasn’t just a matter of weeks, but three countries where the film was shot – and we beat the hell out of them,” Di Bonaventura added. “With a big Hollywood movie like this, losing a day of production can cost $250,000 to $500,000. If the car doesn’t work, that’s a big problem. There was a lot of pressure on Porsche to keep the car going because when you watch the movie It is a marquee vehicle.” Each car also had a specific role during the shoot, Shively said. “One had to back up, another had to jump. They are all expertly designed and had to perform in extreme conditions.” “We approached it like a competition situation, like going into a pit when you have to turn the car around and get it out,” Shively said.
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