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Paul Newman: actor, food and beverage entrepreneur, and on one occasion, even a car. Also, in his spare time, one hell of a gentleman driver—he once finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Though Newman has been gone almost 15 years, relics of his career as a driver (and later a successful team owner) are only just coming up for sale as part of his estate. In less than a month, you’ll be able to bid on not just Newman racing memorabilia but also entire cars.
The estate is coming up for sale at The World of Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, consigned by RM Sotheby’s. On Newman’s side of things, that’ll be headlined by his modified 1998 Volvo V90, nicknamed the “Volvette,” or “V06.” You can probably guess what that means. It was built in 2007 by his Indycar team Newman/Haas Racing (not the Formula 1 Haas), which installed a 6.0-liter Chevy LS2 V8 and a four-speed automatic transmission. Funnily enough, it was his third sleeper Volvo; he previously owned a Buick Grand National-swapped Swedish brick, plus another with a Ford 302 V8.
Accompanying it is a 1997 Legends race car, of the buzzy and thrilling class of junior oval racers. It was reportedly used to sponsor young drivers and still wears its original livery bearing Newman’s initials. They comprise the drivable component of a sale that otherwise concerns a bounty of racing memorabilia.
A series of helmets—worn by Newman or his quadruple-champion Indycar driver Sebastien Bourdais—and some race suits are on offer, as are trophies they were worn in pursuit of. Both in the literal sense, with a trio of CART Owner’s Cups in the mix, and figurative, in the case of the bejeweled Indycar championship rings and some of Newman’s watches—including Rolexes.
RM Sotheby’s will auction these lots online from May 31 to June 13, minus the watches, which will be auctioned in New York on June 9.
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