When Porsche and Pixar teamed up for the Sally Special in 2022, it felt like a no-brainer. Take Sally Carrera from the Cars films, transform her into a real-world 911 with the character's signature blue paint, five-spoke wheels, and a handful of clever Easter eggs—and you're done.
For their latest collaboration, though, it was a bit more of a challenge.
This time, Porsche and Pixar set out to transform three of Toy Story's most beloved characters—Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, and Woody—into real, road-going 911s. And as the teams behind the project explain, bringing those larger-than-life personalities into the automotive world was anything but straightforward.
If you're a dedicated Pixar fan, the names Bob Pauley and Jay Ward should sound familiar. Pauley is one of the artists responsible for creating Buzz Lightyear and remains heavily involved in Pixar productions, including the upcoming Toy Story 5. Ward serves as Pixar's Creative Director of Franchise and played a key role in bringing the Cars universe to life.
Ahead of the debut of these three custom Toy Story-inspired 911s, we chatted with Pauley and Ward to learn what it took to turn some of Pixar's most iconic characters into Porsche sports cars. Here’s what they had to say.
Bob Pauley: I think one thing about Sally is car to car, which is kind of natural, right? So we were all completing each other's sentences in that way, because we knew what it would be. I think with the toys, there are a lot more choices. It's the same process we go through in the movies—it's kind of a struggle, but you stick with your creative ideals and the pure character goals, and you work out the details.
So, Sally was one character, and we could all focus on it, but three cars are a lot of work. How Porsche makes a car is still mind-blowing to me—there are so many different parts going into it… I'm amazed that these even got done, because there's so much to happen on a car.
Buzz was pretty natural… Woody was a lot of work to figure out how to coordinate all those different elements. So, it's like working [at Pixar]. It's a challenge.'
Jay Ward: I mean, honestly, the biggest trick is not going too far, not pushing to the point where, as I said earlier, things can become kitchy. I think these cars strike a really nice balance. You want to hearken to the materials and get the essence and the feeling of the characters, the playfulness of the characters.
We wanted these cars to feel playful. Like, you should have a big smile on your face when you see them. As Bob said, you see Sally Carrera when you see the Sally Special. This is different. This is, ‘How do we say Woody without putting eyes in a mouth and a big cowboy hat on a car?’ So, yeah, a different design challenge, but we're really, really happy with the results.
