This legendary Italian Gran Turismo coupe was McQueen’s favorite car for long-distance trips. Interestingly, he got it as a present for his 34th birthday from his wife. The car was a dark brown with a tan interior, which was and still is an elegant color combination.
Steve McQueen loved traveling with the Lusso, but he never raced it, at least not on the track. In fact, there were reports of the Los Angeles police chasing him for speeding.
To be honest, McQueen never really owned the Highland Green Mustang GT 390 he used in the legendary cop flick, Bullitt. However, the car became iconic and today car fans consider it to be one of the most valuable Mustangs in existence.
But basically, the car was a movie prop they later sold and thought it was lost. However, McQueen hired a private investigator in the late ’70s who found the car, but his offers were declined. Earlier this year, Ford presented the car after more than 40 years in hiding.
By the late ’60s, McQueen’s passion for racing was out of control. He was even considering racing professionally, so he bought a new, state-of-the-art Porsche 908 race car. With the Porsche, he participated in several high-profile races with considerable success.
In fact, McQueen almost won the 1970 Sebring race battling the Porsche and Ferrari factory teams. His passion for racing led him into owning another special racing Porsche, the mighty 917. However, he bought it for shooting the movie, Le Mans, in 1971.
McQueen’s first sports/racing car was the legendary 356 Speedster. It was the lightweight version of the standard Porsche 356 they designed especially for amateur racers. His car was black with “knock-off” racing wheels. McQueen drove this tiny 75 HP strong roadster almost every weekend to a racetrack in the Los Angeles area.
But in May 1959, Steve managed to win his first SCCA series race. It was the event that hooked him on racing for the rest of his life. Interestingly, McQueen sold this car in the early ’60s, only to buy it back in 1974. Today, this beautiful Speedster is in hands of his son, Chad McQueen.
Not all McQueen’s machines were flashy, high-powered expensive cars. In fact, Steve was known to buy, drive and race anything he found interesting and cool. So, in the late ’60s, he acquired a Mini Cooper S with a tiny 1275 cc engine.
Since the Mini was so small and light, it provided a vivid performance. Also, Steve customized it with a few unique touches. Nowadays, the car is in its original shape. And it still wears all of McQueen’s original details and parts.
By the late ’70s, McQueen discovered he was ill, so he started treatments. In that period, he married his third wife and became tired of his celebrity lifestyle. He moved away from Hollywood and stopped racing. In those days, McQueen’s car collection reflected his lifestyle change. And he turned to more ordinary, inexpensive and honest cars and bikes.
One of his favorite cars from the late ’70s was a 1952 Hudson Wasp two-door. In contrast to other cars on the list, this Hudson is slow, bulky and far from exclusive. But McQueen drove it almost daily and enjoyed it thoroughly. Besides the Wasp, his garage contained many ’50s classics like Chevrolet trucks and cars that most people considered old and outdated in those days.
Now you know more about the famous Steve McQueen’s car collection. These cars show he truly was the King of Cool with all his fantastic machines. His legacy lives on, not only in his car collection but with his children, Chad and Terry, too.