On April 19, 1956, reporter Bea Ramirez crowned Elvis Presley the “21-year-old king of the nation's rock 'n' roll set,” mostly because he was. Decades later, in a bit of insecurity, Michael Jackson dubbed himself the "King of Pop" and then self-promoter Howard Stren started calling himself "The King of All Media."
Steve McQueen, like Elvis, didn't need to manufacture a title. He was "The King of Cool" and that's all there is to it. McQueen's antihero swagger and steely resolve came across in classics like The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, and The Cincinnati Kid. His cool persona however really came to shine when he got behind the wheel of a fast automobile for a role. The chase scene in Bullit, is one of the best in cinematic history, but the driving in Le Mans and The Getaway is no less spectacular.
McQueen didn't just talk the talk, he walked the walk, or in this case, drove the drive. He was a bona fide race car driver, competing under the alias of "Harvey Mushman" and he had an epic car collection. With over 100 vintage motorcycles, as well as 100 or so exotic and classic cars, The King of Cool's garage was the coolest that ever was. Picking McQueen's top ten rides is like ranking his ten best roles, they were all great, but some were just a little greater.
10 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso
The Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso, was the Italian automaker's more spacious and luxurious version of the 250 SWB and was limited to 351 vehicles built in 1963 and 1964. With a 3.0-liter Columbo V-12, it made 250 horsepower and had a top speed of 150 mph, which is peppy for such a small, light car. Steve McQueen's wife at the time, Neile Adams, bought him one as a gift.
The Lusso was McQueen's daily driver for about four years until he sold it to a fellow car enthusiast in the early 1970s. In the 2000s the car underwent a meticulous 4000-hour restoration, and because of the McQueen pedigree, sold at a Christie's auction for more than $2.3 million, which was double what the Ferrari was expected to bring in.
9 1970 Porsche 911S
The opening scene of Le Mans shows Steve McQueen pulling up in a slate gray 1970 Porsche 911S. The 2.2-liter engine produced 123 horsepower and 130 pound-feet of torque. It could hit 0-62 (100 kilometers) in 10 seconds and had a top speed of 124 mph. For the time this was a quick little ride, and it was used on the movie set as a camera car to capture the racing action at LaMans.
After the movie wrapped up shooting, McQueen had the car shipped to his Los Angeles home, but he didn't end up keeping it for very long. He already had a similar 1969 Porsche and the '70 seemed redundant. It would only go through three more owners, who kept beautiful care of it before it hit the auction block and sold for $1.375 million.
8 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible
A 1957 Chevy Bel Air is an undeniably cool car, but because it was once owned by Steve McQueen it's actually a pretty hot ride as well. The Matador Red fuel-injected ragtop was built in the Van Nuys, California plant just for McQueen. At some point he sold it and many years later, the car ended up in a Barret-Jackson auction.
Here's where the journey gets weird: McQueen's '57 was bought by Kent Perkins who is Ruth Buzzi's husband. Yes, the same Ruth Buzzi from Laugh-In and The Carol Burnett Show. Perkins had lent the Chevy to the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles as part of their McQueen car display, but eventually took it home to enjoy it himself.
7 Von Dutch 1904 Winton Flyer Replica
Legendary car customizer, Von Dutch, built a replica 1904 Winston Flyer replica from the ground up for the 1969 Steve McQueen film, The Reivers. In the movie, McQueen's character is obsessed with, and frequently steals, the Winton Flyer. In real life, McQueen was also obsessed with the car and bought it after the filming wrapped up.
The replica was actually powered by a 65 horsepower 1,275cc Austin Healy Sprite engine because apparently, 1904 Winton power plants are a little hard to come by. Though not the fastest thing in McQueen's garage, he held on to the Winton Flyer replica until his death in 1980. It eventually sold for $68,750 in an RM Sotheby's auction.
6 The Baja Boot
McQeenOnline.com recalls the time in 1968 when Steve McQueen entered in the "7-11 Stardust" race, which is a grueling 320-mile trek across the harsh Nevada desert. He showed up with a monster custom off-roader he called the "Baja Boot." McQueen was doing well in the race until the axle snapped, and the rear wheels came off.
As for the specs of the beast, nobody can tell it better than how McQueen explained to the media at the time:
"I've lined me up a sweet machine for this one. Called the 'Baja Boot.' Chevy powered. Four hundred and fifty horses under the bonnet. Space frame construction. Four-wheel drive. Independent suspension. And 'smooth'! I can notch close to a hundred over a sand wash and you better believe that's moving." - Steve McQueen
5 1961 Cooper T-56 Mark II
Steve McQueen's T-56 Mark II Formula Junior Racing Car, had been successful, winning 8 races for Team Tyrel, driven by South African Tony Maggs. In 1961, Tyrel gave the car back to Cooper, who in turn sold it to McQueen. The 105-horsepower 1,098cc OHV four-cylinder engine propelled McQueen to a number of victories, including at the Santa Barbara street races.
Cooper actually wanted McQueen to bring the car to England and race for them, but the studio stepped in and gave the actor an ultimatum: make movies or race. McQueen still did some racing on the DL, but he had to get rid of the Cooper T-56. The race car went through several owners and a couple of restorations, when it eventually sold at an RM Sothebys auction for $198,000 in 2012.
4 Shelby Cobra 289
Carol Shelby lent one of his legendary Cobra 289 Roadsters to Steve McQueen, in hopes that the actor would eventually buy the car. The naturally aspirated 289 V-8 produced 271 horsepower and 312 lb-ft of torque, making it one of, if not the fastest cars on the street. After weeks with no sale, the Cobra was taken back, spruced up, and sold.
The journey of the car gets a little sketchy as it changed many hands and got pretty beat up in the process. Supercar Nostalgia reports that in 1980, the Cobra's chassis was so damaged that the new owner replaced it, but cut the original VIN out of the frame and put it on the new one. Then, the old chassis was sold, so it's possible there are two Steve McQueen Cobras out there.
3 1959 Lotus XI
Steve McQueen's first race car was a Porsche Speedster 1600 Super, but he traded that in, and up for a 1959 Lotus XI. That wasn't just idle talk either, because he had several great finishes in the car.
McQueen noted, “In that Lotus, I really started to become competitive. I was beginning to find out what real sports car racing was all about.”
Weighing just,1000 pounds, the Lotus XI's 1500cc Coventry Climax FWB engine made it a great racer. Unfortunately, the Lotus was another victim of the studio's demand that McQueen gives up racing, and he had to sell it. It's unclear what became of McQueen's Lotus XI. It could be sitting in a barn right now, waiting to be rediscovered.
2 1956 Jaguar XKSS
There is no mystery to the whereabouts of Steve McQueen's 1956 Jaguar XKSS, as it currently resides in the Peterson Automotive Museum. The story goes, the car belonged to TV Game show host, Bill Leyden, and McQueen was at the lot when he caught a glimpse of the Jag and fell in love. He bought the car from Leyden for $5,000, which is the steal of the century since there were only 16 ever made.
McQueen loved winding out the Jaguar's 3.4L inline-six so much that he racked up a number of speeding tickets and almost had his license revoked. McQueen sold the XKSS to a collector in the 1970s, probably for a lot more than 5Gs, but couldn't shake his affection for the car and bought it back. It remained a part of his collection until his untimely passing.
1 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390
Steven McQueen never actually owned the Ford Mustang GT390 from Bullit, but there is no other car more associated with the actor than the Highland Green fastback. The chase in that movie between the McQueen-helmed GT and the evil 1968 Charger R/T is one of the best ever captured on film. Unlike a lot of other movies where McQueen ended up taking home his car costar, he let this one slip away.
According to Car and Driver,a guy named Bob Kiernan bought the car in 1974 from a classified ad and used it as a daily driver, as movie cars weren't a big deal back then. McQueen made several attempts to purchase the car from Kiernan, but he wouldn't let go of the 'Stang. McQueen reportedly bought a similar car just to have one. The Bullit GT390 stopped running and disappeared for decades, reemerging in 2018. It turns out Kiernan was right to hang onto the Mustang because it eventually sold at a Mecum auction for $3,740,000.