The Bridge isn’t exactly what you’d call a feel-good television show. Set in Malmö and Copenhagen, the Scandi-noir crime drama sees Sofia Helin playing the socially challenged but brilliant detective Saga Norén as she attempts to solve a series of gruesome murders.
Saga is the star, but her choice of wheels has been the talk of forums and blogs since the first episode aired in 2011. It’s a Porsche 911S and it is being auctioned for charity at the forthcoming Bonhams sale at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. We did a little detective work of our own to discover more about the car.
Following much speculation and guesswork about Saga’s Porsche, the case closed on a definitive verdict. It’s a 1977 Porsche 911S, imported from San Francisco in 2010. More information was revealed in an article on the old Origin Porsche website.
Hans Hedberg, test manager of Swedish car magazine Teknikens Varld, imported the Porsche to Sweden in 2010. He said: “I bought the car from a Porsche workshop outside San Francisco in autumn 2009. From out of the blue, I suddenly spotted the car when just passing by: a sudden stop, 180-degrees turnaround and in for a quick check of the cars and the workshop. I gave them a price and the next day it was all mine.”
Hans continued: “[I liked the fact that the car was] original and non-fixed. The 1977 911S has the big 180hp engine but in the small body. In 1978 the wider 911SC came, but the 911S-77 is, in my eyes, the cool cat. And fast! The colour, Jäger Grün (Hunter Green as I call it) was an option, and yes; the paint has been fixed, but not by me.”
From a city famous for its Golden Gate bridge, the 911 was sold to The Bridge production company in 2010. According to Hans, the colour was key to the deal: “The film/production company behind Bron (The Bridge) called me up and the car was sold as quickly as it had been over in the States. Just like with me, it was the colour and appearance that made the deal.”
Hans concluded: “I think The Bridge is one of the best TV crime series ever… and every time I see Ms Saga and her Jäger Grün Porsche, I’d like to have it again. Of course it’s even more fun that people around in the world by this way can enjoy the car as much as I did!”
Not that Sofia Helin enjoyed the driving the car. Speaking to the Independent in 2015, Sofia said: “All I can say is that it’s very hard to drive. It’s so old.”
Little chance, then, that the Swedish actress will be making a bid on the famous 911. In 2015, the Telegraph revealed that Sofia Helin doesn’t have a car. “I live in the city,” she said, “I don’t need a car.”
The 911 was introduced around 49 minutes into the first episode of series one. “Nice car,” says Saga Norén’s Danish crime fighting partner, Martin Rohde (played by Kim Bodnia) as he sees the Porsche for the first time. “Is the Swedish police paid well?” he asks.
“Don’t jump to conclusions about by wages based on my car,” says Saga. Later, in episode four of series four, the Swedish detective reveals to her current Danish partner that she won it in a bet with her tutor at the Police College.
The Bridge will close at the end of the current series, leaving fans wondering what will come of Saga Norén. Of more interest here is the fate of the Porsche 911. It must be due a dramatic send-off. But, as Saga drives over the Oresund Bridge for one final time, this could be your chance to take the wheel of the famous 911.
The Porsche 911S is owned by the production company and has been on display at the Malmö museum. But with the series reaching its conclusion, the producers have donated it to charity, with the proceeds going to WaterAid.
Sofia Helin, who is an ambassador for WaterAid, said: “Saga’s Porsche is not only a big part of my own acting life but has also become part of Swedish TV history. I’m so pleased the sale of this car will go to such a good cause. Through my work with WaterAid, I’ve seen first-hand the difference clean water can make to people’s health, education and livelihoods.”
Meanwhile, Lars Blomgren, Anders Landström and Bo Ehrhardt, creators of The Bridge said, “We are very happy that The Bridge will finish its successful UK journey with the sale of Saga Norén’s Porsche and that we are able to donate the money to a cause as important as WaterAid.”
Its appearance at Goodwood won’t be the first time the 911S has paid a visit to the UK. In February 2014, the Porsche was on show at Nordicana, the festival of Nordic fiction and film in Shoreditch, London.
The 911 is being auctioned without a reserve, with Bonhams slapping a £20,000 to £30,000 pre-auction estimate on the TV star. Too cheap? According to the Hagerty Classic Car Price Guide, the average value of a 1977 Porsche 911 2.7-litre is £34,000.
But the Hagerty value tells only half the story. Writing on the PetrolBlog Facebook page, Adrian Crawford of Porsche specialists Williams Crawford, said: “It’s the last of narrow bodied 911s with a light motor and great sound. This one [offers] no knowledge of true condition or tech status but it is in a great colour and bit of fame, too. Typically they are £35,000 to £60,000. I think it will do well.”
The Porsche 911S will go under the hammer at the Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale on 13 July 2018. Buy it and treat yourself to a Scandinavian holiday this summer. Just don’t linger too long when you reach the middle of the Oresund Bridge. Tack!
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