[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 Ferraris, Porsches, 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 Great Escape, Bullitt, 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 12 Hours of Sebring in a Porsche 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 The Blob. 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 western 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 Frank Sinatra in Never So Few. He the Gulf-liveried Porsche 917 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 Ford Mustang 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. 38 diecastxmagazine.com dc_essentials_sp11.indd 38 12/9/10 4:41 PM and two versions of his Porsche 908/2 “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, the driver 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 Jo Siffert and Brian Redman. (It DNF’d streets of San Francisco with McQueen doing a lot spring 2011 39 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.