Steve’s 650 Triumph just sold at auction for $120,000.00.







As is well known in those days McQueen ran around town in a souped up Mini Cooper S.

It was early 1963 when Steve McQueen and his wife Neile Adams left a deposit on a new Ferrari 250 GT/L Lusso Berlinetta.
Enzo Ferrari started to build the perfect gran turismo in 1954. He established a pattern for future 250 GTs: voluptuous yet practical coachwork with Ferrari's race-developed and proven V-12 engine and refined parallel tube chassis with independent front and live axle rear suspension.
Ferrari piled success upon success for the 250 GT, particularly with the 250 GT SWB (short wheel base) and its successor the brilliant 250 GTO.
Late in 1962, Ferrari brought out the last of the 250 GT series, the 250 GT/L Lusso berlinetta. The Lusso combined the best features of the 250 GT short Wheelbase Berlinetta and the 250 GTO .

Built on the short wheelbase chassis modified to place the 250 hp 3-liter Colombo-derived engine and engine-mounted 4-speed gearbox between the front wheels for more cockpit room, the Lusso drew from the GTO its precisely located rear axle with semi-elliptical leaf springs and Watts linkage.
The story on the Mini is he had it painted brown and a large sunroof was also installed to give it a sporty look. Because he didn't like the radio antenna in his field of vision while driving he had that moved into a recess in the right rear fender.
Another unique McQueen touch was to have a fog light mounted on the front bumper bar. He had the interior customized by upholsterer Tony Nancy.

In late 1967 he acquired his Ferrari NART Spyder after using one in Boston during the filming of "The Thomas Crown Affair.
"Lusso" means luxury and this elegantly designed Pininfarina creation was appropriately trimmed and appointed with thick carpets and soft leather.
Like all Ferraris the Lusso was a driver's car, with excellent visibility and controls that said, no matter how "Lusso" the interior and sculpted the Pininfarina body, that the 250 GT/L Lusso was intended to cover large amounts of ground quickly.
In production for barely eighteen months, 350 would be built. McQueen ordered his Ferrari 250, in a metallic chestnut with beige leather interior.

McQueen took delivery in mid-1963. They immediately set out on a long road trip. They took off up the California coast through Big Sur and Carmel to Monterey. From there they headed to San Francisco, then over the Sierras to Reno/Lake Tahoe, down through Lone Pine, Death Valley and back to Southern California.
McQueen and the Lusso got some track time at Riverside in 1965 when he was doing an ad shoot.

In between shoots McQueen, went out on the track with in the Lusso. McQueen was known for parking his cars himself, the only celebrity who wouldn't let Valet’s park it. He drove this car around as a beater for about three years.

A constant irritation developed concerning its propensity for burning oil and smoking under hard acceleration. The cause of the problem was soft, easily worn valve guides. McQueen had the car's engine rebuilt, but the oil smoke persisted. The love affair waned.


Tom Sherwood purchased the “Lusso,” in July 1973. Sherwood drove it to San Francisco where it was, stored and unused for the next 24 years. Michael Regalia, calls it, at the time "the nicest, unmolested Lusso that needed a restoration in the world.

Cosmetically it was not great, but it ran very well." Steve’s 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso Chassis #4891 Engine #4891, built on the Ferrari 250 GT SWB (short wheelbase) chassis was auctioned off for $2.31 million.
This grey Porsche was used in the opening scenes in “Lemans.” It was used for many years as Steve’s runabout after the Ferrari. 25 years after Steve’s death over 55 cars, 200 bikes and aircraft and all kinds of stuff were auctioned off.