‘Squid Game’ Star Celebrates Success With Beautiful Vintage Porsche Pickup

The contestant becomes the VIP.

‘Squid Game’ Star Celebrates Success With Beautiful Vintage Porsche Pickup

Over the last eighteen months, while we’ve all been homebound doing our best to avoid The Spicy Cough, we’ve seen a number of Netflix shows become huge international phenomena.

First, we saw Tiger King, the improbable murder-mystery documentary about a larger-than-life exotic animal dealer, become a global sensation. Then we had Bridgerton, the Downton Abbey-esque romantic drama about Regency-era London debutantes, hit the big time. But the latest flavour, Squid Game – a Korean-language survival horror thriller that’s made waves for its nail-biting action and biting social commentary on South Korean society – has eclipsed everything else, and is now officially Netflix’s most successful TV series of all time.

The unprecedented success of the brutal show has seen its stars, some of whom were stars in South Korea but virtually unknown outside of their home country, catapaulted into the international limelight in a big way. Take Lee Jung-jae, who plays the starring role of Seong Gi-hun: already a well-established actor and model domestically, Lee has now become one of the most prominent leading men in international showbusiness almost overnight.

Getting that sort of breakthrough is certainly cause for celebration, and Lee’s wasted no time doing so – although he’s done it in a very classy sort of way. The 48-year-old took to his newly-launched Instagram account (which already has over 3.7 million followers) to show off what he spent his Squid Game money on: a vintage Porsche 911.

A Porsche 964 Turbo. It’s worth pointing out this isn’t Lee’s car… Actually, this one used to belong to Jenson Button. Image: Road & Track

Specifically, he’s bought what appears to be a 964, the second generation of the classic German sports car which was produced from 1989 to 1993 (he’s not shared a photo of the car’s exterior, but the interior design is a giveaway). What we can see is that it’s a manual, which means he’s doing it properly.

For many Porsche enthusiasts, this is the 911 to get, as it has the perfect combination of classic 911 styling, an air-cooled engine and wild driving dynamics with modern safety features such as ABS, power steering and airbags. It was also the first 911 to be offered in all-wheel drive or have an active rear spoiler.

RELATED: A Guide To Buying A Classic, Vintage & Used Porsche 911

This version of the 911 has become increasingly valuable in recent years because of this, and also because it’s a popular platform for restomodders such as the highly-acclaimed Singer Vehicle Design firm.

In that sense, it’s a pretty savvy investment on Lee’s part – but also a very tasteful one.

Watch 70 years of Porsche history in 2 minutes below.

This 964 isn’t the only Porsche or even the only 911 Lee owns, either. He also owns a 991 series Carrera 4S, and reportedly also has a Panamera in his garage.

RELATED: The Rock Halts Netflix Production With Uncomfortable Porsche Problem

Is there a degree of irony in a man who’s become so famous from a show about weath disparity then buying a bunch of expensive sports cars? Maybe. But we’d be lying that if we had the same sort of payday – whether from being an actor in a successful TV show or competing in some sort of murderous competition like the characters in Squid Game did – we wouldn’t go out and buy a Porsche (or two).

Red light, green light indeed…

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