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Home , Brian Redman, Never So Few, Steve McQueen

[diecast essentials] by bill bennett the ultimate steve McQueen collection Even by Hollywood standards, Steve McQueen was cool ... really cool. And his taste for anything with an engine was just as cool. He was a true motorhead with a passion for driving and racing his collection of cars and bikes. AUTOart’s Steve McQueen Collection provides an opportunity to get to know him and his cars better and, at the same time, add some stunning models to any collection.

McQueen’s aura of cool was not something he By 1974, he was the highest-paid actor in the world. picked up in an actor’s workshop; he came by it the His movie Le Mans about the running of the 24-hour hard way. In his colorful early years, he had been a endurance race stands shoulder to shoulder with street gang member, reform school graduate, circus Grand Prix as the best movies of the genre. roustabout, lumberjack, professional motorcycle McQueen was passionate about owning racer and U.S. Marine. You could say he had been unique and exotic cars and motorcycles. Over around. the years, he owned , , Jaguars, He was born in 1930 to a stunt pilot father, who Harley-Davidsons, Indians, BSAs, Triumphs and abandoned his family to work in a flying circus a Husquvarna. But he wasn’t just a collector; he when Steve was just six months old, and a rowdy, demonstrated his driving and riding skills in many of s

alcoholic mother. McQueen spent his early years his movies including , , The ge

bouncing among various family members and in and Thomas Crown Affair, Le Mans, The Getaway and On ma y i y

out of trouble. He joined the Marines in 1947, was Any Sunday. He raced on both two and four wheels. tt honorably discharged in 1950 and used the money In 1970, he co-drove with Revlon heir Peter Revson ge from his GI Bill to take acting lessons. to win the Under 3-liter Prototype class and second He starred on Broadway, in the movies and on overall at the in a 908/2. McQueen played race car TV. His first lead film role was in the B-movie classic To celebrate this ultimate of car guys, AUTOart driver Michael Delaney in . But his early fame came from playing collaborated with the McQueen family to offer a his movie Le Mans. It is bounty hunter Josh Randall in the TV series of 1:18 diecasts of some of his most significant said; "Men wanted to be him; women wanted to be series Wanted: Dead or Alive. His first big screen and interesting cars. Presently, the series includes with him." role was with in . He the Gulf-liveried that he used in the earned an Academy Award for Best Male Actor and movie LeMans, a Jaguar XK-SS McQueen owned was nominated for his role in The Sand Pebbles. twice (with Bill Harrah’s Automobile Collection in Moviegoers loved him and the characters he played. between), the 1968 390 used in Bullitt,

AUTOart has built the Porsche 917K in many itera- tions, but none is more iconic than the Gulf-liveried star of LeMans. Beautifully finished in baby blue and orange, it stands proud among cars twice its price.

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dc_essentials_sp11.indd 38 12/9/10 4:41 PM and two versions of his /2 “Flounder” as after 156 laps.) he raced it at Holtville and Sebring. This probably Made using an 11-year- isn’t the end to the collection: AUTOart’s new old mold, AUTOart’s Porsche 356 Speedster issued in both white and silver no. 20 917 is a beautiful looks way too much like McQueen’s black Speedster car, with exceptional not to suspect that there may be a “bathtub” paint and graphics, even also joining the collection sometime in the future. though it lacks many engine, cockpit and Porsche 917 from Le Mans movie. Built chassis details seen on expressly for winning the 24-hour race at Le Mans, more recent AUTOart the Porsche 917 was the first “big bore” endurance releases. However, racer to come from what’s there is nicely Porsche. Using experience done, and it looks great sitting amongst far more The Bullitt 1968 Mustang is subtle yet purposeful gleaned from its smaller detailed cars. It would be nice to see AUTOart come in its de-badged state. displacement cars, the out with limited edition “elite-like” versions of some American Racing Equip- first prototype 917 was of their key 917s featuring detailing comparable to ment Torq Thrust 5-spokes slippery and about 20mph their Mazda 787B. Nonetheless, if you’re a fan of complete the package. faster than anything Porsche had ever built, but McQueen, Porsches, or Le Mans, owning a Gulf- While not overly detailed, it was prone to get very light and unstable on the liveried 917 is mandatory. the engine bay completes the car quite capably. high-speed circuits such as the Le Mans Mulsanne Although the ultimate winner of the real 1970 Straight. Porsche realized that trading a little speed race was the red and white, no. 23 917, it’s a tossup for more downforce and stability made sense. For whether to get the iconic Gulf-liveried McQueen car homologation, 25 917s were initially built using or the real winner. Ah, what the heck, get ’em both. an aluminum-tube, space-frame chassis. A 630hp, Hans Metzger-designed Type 912 air-cooled, dual 1968 Mustang 390 from Bullitt. Ford built overhead cam, flat 12-cylinder engine powered the two identical 1968 390 Mustangs with sequential car. serial numbers for the Drivers found the powerful car a real handful to movie Bullitt. The cars drive and potentially deadly. Because of the length were painted Highland of the engine, was pushed forward with Green Metallic and were his feet beyond the front axle centerline, putting toned down by removing the driver in real peril. But the car was incredibly or painting over much successful and dominated endurance racing, of the chrome trim and especially the high-speed circuits during the 1970 badging. Max Balchowsky of Old Yeller fame modified and 1971 seasons. Unfortunately, an FIA rules and strengthened the chassis and suspensions change made the car ineligible for the ’72 season. to withstand the rigors these cars were about to McQueen took a big gamble when he chose the endure. Each was fitted with Koni shocks, American unproven 917 to be his co-star in Le Mans, filmed at Racing Torq-Thrust five-spoke wheels and Shelby and loosely based on the 1970 24-hour race, but was steering wheels, leather-wrapped by Tony Nancy. vindicated when a 917 actually won in 1970. The Both cars were 390 cubic inch, 4-speed cars. Only Gulf-liveried no. 20 917 co-driven by Michael Delaney one car exists today, the other having been totaled (McQueen’s character) was actually co-driven in the during the filming. Bullitt’s chase scene through the real race by and Brian Redman. (It DNF’d streets of with McQueen doing a lot

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dc_essentials_sp11.indd 39 12/10/10 11:02 AM [diecast essentials] of his own driving is a real tour de force and almost endurance series. For 1969, Porsche substantially universally considered the best automotive chase changed and lightened the car by removing the top scene ever seen in a movie. and bobbing its long tail. In this configuration, it was AUTOart’s Bullitt Mustang looks as understated designated 908/2. Making about 350 horsepower and purposeful as the real car. As you would expect and weighing only 1,400 pounds, it was a potent from AUTOart, the paint finish and chrome trim are combination, particularly on short, twisty courses. on the high end of the industry’s standards. Shut Solar Productions, McQueen’s production company, lines are tight and crisp. The stance is dead-on. The purchased its car after Brian Redman and Jo Siffert only complaint may be that the green paint doesn’t had run it at Le Mans in 1969. McQueen intended to seem to have the level of metallic content found on use it to teach himself how to drive high-powered the real car. endurance Porsches and ultimately use it as the The interior features molded-plastic seats, a faux- main camera car for Le Mans. wood-trimmed dash, fabric seat belts and flocked To get a feel for the car, McQueen entered it in carpeting, all competently done when compared three West Coast SCCA races in A/Sports Racer. At with other manufacturers in AUTOart’s price range. Holtville he dominated the field and set a new lap A large chrome air cleaner and a set of chrome steel record. He then went to Riverside, where he won a valve covers dominate the engine compartment. preliminary race and then failed to finish the final Spark plug wires and factory stickers on the air race when his transmission failed. His next race cleaner, radiator cap, fan shroud and the battery was in Phoenix, and he again dominated the field. caps add to the realism. Although he was leading his SCCA class and could This is a nicely done but not detail-laden model of have likely become the SCCA regional champion, an iconic car and is probably the best ’68 Mustang he had bigger fish to fry and set his sights on the you’ll find anywhere. Like the other cars in this upcoming 12-hour endurance race in Sebring, FL. behind collection, there are more reasons to add this to With retired racer Richie Ginther managing the the your collection than just it being a nice rendition of a car and team and Peter Revson as his co-driver, the scenes Mustang. The connection to McQueen and the Bullitt team entered the 12 Hours of Sebring. But McQueen For the filming of movie adds panache to this understated beauty. had a problem: In a motorcycle racing accident at Le Mans, the 908/2 the Elsinore Grand Prix a few weeks earlier, he had was painted black Porsche 908/2 “Flounder” 1970 12 Hours broken his left foot in six places. He convinced race and fitted with three of Sebring. The Porsche 908/2 is the second officials that he could adequately drive the car with a cameras, one in a generation of the famed modified cast, and with Revson doing the majority of special fairing on race car. The 908 was the driving, the car finished the race 1st in class and the nose and two developed in the late ’60s 2nd overall. And this was only after , rear-mounted. Two as a flat, 3-liter, 8-cylinder in a last-minute dash in a borrowed 5-liter , Porsche factory driv- coupe to race in the World passed the little 3-liter Porsche and finished with a ers, Herbert Linge Championship for Marques 22-second lead. and Jonathan Williams, handled the driving duties. Even with all the stops to reload the cameras, the car was the sec- ond-highest finisher in the Under 3-Liter Prototype class and finished ninth overall.

The 3-liter 908/2 was es- sentially an 8-cylinder go- kart. Particularly suited for tight, twisty courses and a capable partner to be matched with the uber-fast 917s, the 908/2 helped bring Porsche the world championship.

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The Jaguar XK-SS was the AUTOart’s 908/2 is an excellent re-creation of the street-configured version real car and is painted a flawless solid white with of the purpose-built D-Type racing stripes, numbers and Von Dutch pinstriping in Jaguar race car. Although keeping the flowing curves black. Gulf and Goodyear sponsorship decals are the of the D-Jag's body, the only other adornment. The shape and stance closely afterthought windscreen replicate the real car. Shut lines and build quality are little, and in this configuration, it produced between with its chrome frame was excellent. 250 and 300 horsepower and was backed up by an demanded by law enforce- There is a lot of amazing detail that AUTOart all-synchromesh 4-speed Jaguar transmission. In ment but stole some of put into this model in some surprising places: little the XK-SS's inherited it he became the terror of LA’s famed Mulholland sensuality. things like the screen filters inside the injector Drive. Today, the car is part of the Peterson Museum plenums, or the photo-etch aircraft fuel filler in the Collection and its multi-million-dollar worth the passenger’s side door sill. Even the driver’s side matter of wild speculation given its provenance. fuel filler cap has a miniscule photo-etch opening AUTOart’s XK-SS is truly a beautiful piece. The bar with lightening holes. The engine cover lifts model is painted flawlessly in a dark British Racing up and is supported by a nicely done over-center Green (almost black with just a hint of green). The support. The engine has spark plug wires and only badging is a chrome-plated “Jaguar XK-SS” fuel lines running to the injectors. These details appliqué on the leading edge of the bonnet’s power show the fussiness they’ve shown toward this car. bulge. The bonnet and front fenders tilt forward as a single piece to reveal the engine, those wonderful Webers, the headers and the battery. At the rear of Matt Stone's McQueen's Jaguar XK-SS. Based on their three-time LeMans- the car, a narrow horizontal door opens downward Machines—The Cars and winning D-type, Jaguar built the XK-SS in 1956 to reveal a mail-slot-like home for the spare under Bikes of a Hollywood Icon when they found they the rear deck. is a great read and is filled were coming to the end of AUTOart’s ability to capture the subtle nuances with pictures of many of McQueen's favorite rides. the production life for their of the textures that make up the car is amazing. If you're really into this era, D-type race cars and still When you compare the chrome of the bumpers or the another fascinating read had 25 chassis remaining windshield frame to the finish of the wheels, or the is Pat Ganahl's Von Dutch and no purchasers. To leather seats to the texture and wrinkles of the vinyl —The Art, The Myth, The make the XK-SS, the D-type chassis was modified to top material found on the tonneau cover, you can Legend. be marginally street-able by adding a passenger door see that the repertoire of finishes and textures goes and seat, muffler, rudimentary top and side curtains, a long way to bring realism to the piece. AUTOart bumper and bumperettes, luggage rack and a full also does a remarkable job of molding delicate trim glass windshield. Sixteen XK-SSs were built with the pieces without showing a lot of parting lines and remaining nine D-type chassis being destroyed in a flash. An example is the luggage rack that looks to fire at the Covington works. be fabricated from very delicate chrome tubing but In 1958, McQueen paid $5,000 to become the in reality is a delicately molded piece that’s fairly third owner of XK-SS number 713. He had the robust. AUTOart quite accurately captures the white car re-sprayed in British Racing Green, had stance and shape of this sensuous British cat. Tony Nancy stitch up black leather seats in his Steve McQueen is joined only by as distinctive rectangular tufted style and hired Von elite Hollywood actors who were also top competitive Dutch (Kenny Howard) to construct a door to seal race car drivers. Both wheeled cars on and off the glove box where McQueen kept his shades. screen with amazing skill. But Steve McQueen’s The car came equipped with the 3.4-liter Jaguar pure automotive passion sets him apart. AUTOart’s XK DOHC engine sporting three Weber side-draft McQueen Collection is truly a set of diecast cars that carburetors. McQueen had the engine tweaked a are historic in nature and famous via ownership. n

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