"These days lots of people claim to know Steve McQueen. In fact a little niche of celebrity journalism about the late actor has sprung up, and naturally there are plenty of references to the cars he owned, many of which have crossed the auction block.

But the truth is, it all happened a long time ago. McQueen died in 1980 at age 50, and his cool, laconic style on the screen is the antithesis of the well-meaning but smarmy things that are written about him today. The one thing that can safely be said about Steve McQueen is he liked machines — things that clattered, rattled and zoomed. He owned airplanes, motorcycles and especially cars. Like this 1976 Porsche Turbo Carrera.

The Porsche Thing
McQueen's first-ever new car was a black 1958 Porsche 356A 1600 S Speedster that is still owned by the McQueen family. When the actor took his new car to the Santa Barbara road races in May 1959, he received a lukewarm reception until he won the novice event. Soon he bought the 1956 Jaguar XKSS that had been owned by James E. Peterson, the architect of Riverside International Raceway. And he went on to race a variety of cars while filming movies, including a Mini Cooper S, an Austin-Healey Sprite and a Cooper T56 Formula Junior.

He quickly became known as a car enthusiast, and Sports Illustrated even collared him for one of those celebrity automotive stories (some things never change) in the edition of August 8, 1966, in which he drove eight cars at Riverside, including his first-ever Porsche 911. Of this newly introduced Porsche, McQueen said, "The old Porsches had that violent oversteer tendency, and they would get out of whack with no warning. Now the problem has been corrected. The 911 was a very neutral-handling car, very docile, very pleasant to drive, and the five-speed gearbox sure was easy to use."

Finding the McQueen Ferrari
But Mike Regalia found Steve McQueen because of a Ferrari, not a Porsche. A longtime specialist in custom cars and now the owner of Regalia Concours Restorations in Sun Valley, California, Regalia had just sold his own Ferrari Testarossa in 1997. Prices in the classic car market had ebbed after the recession of the early 1990s and he thought it might be his last chance to personally own a collectible Ferrari. Regalia went looking for a Ferrari 250 GTL "Lusso" Berlinetta, perhaps the most beautiful of the early Ferrari GT cars. Then a friend called him with news about a Lusso locked away in an industrial space in San Francisco.

Regalia went to see the car and met Tom Sherwood, who had owned the Lusso since 1972. Regalia recalls, "The seller claimed Steve McQueen was the original owner, but he had nothing to confirm it. He was asking $135,000 when Lussos were selling for $85,000. I made a fair offer and kept in touch. It took two years to do the deal."

Eventually the car was sold for cash (plus a custom handgun previously owned by McQueen that Regalia had acquired). Later the Lusso's original sales document was uncovered and it transpired that the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTL Berlinetta had been purchased for McQueen's 34th birthday by his wife, Neile. Specially painted Morrane, a metallic dark brown, the car was a favorite of McQueen's until the engine started smoking under acceleration in 1967 and he sold it.

Regalia was slowly restoring the Lusso when the organizers of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance asked him to complete the car in time for their 2005 event, which would honor Pininfarina, the design house that did the Lusso's bodywork. And after some 4,000 hours of restoration, the McQueen Lusso finally appeared in public.

In August 2007, the McQueen Ferrari Lusso became the centerpiece of Christie's last-ever car auction, selling for a stunning $2.31 million. But letting the Lusso go left a hole in Mike Regalia's life. What could ever replace such a precious possession?

The Widowmaker
Steve McQueen's connection with Porsche during the production process of Le Mans (1971) had been quite well documented by 2008. During preparation for the film, he drove a Slate Gray 1969 Porsche 911S. In the months before filming began in 1970, he owned and raced a Porsche 908 racing car. For his personal use during filming in France, he purchased a Slate Gray 1970 Porsche 911S in Europe. The '69 911S is still owned by the McQueen family, while the '70 911S is in private hands and is driven weekly.

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Driving Steve McQueen's Porsche 911 Turbo

 

Great read. Thanks DJ! Iconic car and iconic gentleman. Essence of cool.

 

Very cool.

 

thank you dj!

 

I just ran into Chad on tuesday actually. He's got a nice signal orange early car with lightweight parts and a nice hotrod motor.

 

^^Invite him to the TEAM Z!

 

^Will Do DJ. I'll see him again since he gets his car worked on at the shop I used to work at.

 

Iconic motoring figure with endless charisma...

I would love to own a modern variation with the same spec combo..

slate grey, sc fuch wheels... black interior TT

 

very cool.

 

Great Read .

Check this out : Steve McQueen: King of Cool - Photo Gallery - LIFE