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The Real McQueen

I came across this beauty on the Christies auction site. It used to belong to Steve McQueen. It is a 1963 Ferrari 250GT Lusso. If you seen movies like Bullit, Le Mans and The Great Escape you'll associate McQueen with driving/riding. In real life he was a genuine enthusiast. The scene in the Great Escape where McQeen has gotten away from the Bosch on a motorcyle - heading for the Swiss border and freedom. At one point he stops. Does he have enough gas to succeed? He shakes the bike from side to side between his knees. That's something a genuine motorcyclist would do.

It reminds me of the ad for Ford where The Great Man was digitally resurrected.



The loving look at the end towards the old Triumph twin reminds me that I always wondered why the Germans in the Great Escape would have a British bike on standby? Wouldn't BMW or Zundapp make more sense. I suppose those bike wouldn't have been able to convicingly complete the stunt jump over the barbed wire. (If you want to be finicky the bike was a 1961 Triumph TR6 Trophy - WW2 ended in 1945).

When Steve McQueen died I saw a photo of his vehicle collection (I think it was in an Arena magazine) I noticed a Sunbeam S7 - the same model I once owned. And there the connection ends.

In a strange example of being a one trick pony (if you'll excuse the pun) Ford dug him up again for their retro Mustang relaunch:


And finally - the real McQueen. Here's the trailer for LeMans



As for the Lusso - Don't wrap it. I'll take it as it is.

LINKS:

Christies
Steve McQueen on IMDB

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