Steve McQueen’s Ferrari is for sale

Hollywood hero

This Ferrari 275GTB/4 will go under the hammer at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale on 18-19 August, where it has an eye-watering estimate of $5-7 million.

It is one of fewer than 300 examples produced, which already makes it rather special, but this one was bought new by the ‘King of Cool’ in the 1960s, one Steve McQueen, which lends it a little extra something.

What’s more, it featured in the February 2014 edition of Classic & Sports Car, where we took it for an exclusive drive.

Cool customer

Having had an eventful life to date, this famous Ferrari is now looking for a new home, consigned to one of this summer’s biggest auctions, the RM Sotheby’s sale during Monterey Car Week in California.

In the unlikely event that its stunning looks aren’t enough to draw bidders, its history certainly should – here’s its story.

Swapped in

As you now know, this gorgeous Ferrari 275GTB/4 was bought new by American actor Steve McQueen in 1967.

He was a huge fan of the brand having already owned one of only 10 Ferrari 275GTS/4 NART Spiders.

After being rear-ended in the Spider, he knew repairs were going to take a long time, so chose to purchase this coupé.

Hazelnuts and chianti

You might be surprised to learn that this car was not red when it left the factory.

It was in fact Nocciola (hazelnut), with a black-leather interior.

As soon as the actor took delivery, he had the car repainted in the Chianti Red hue created by his car friend Lee Brown, who also developed the Ford Mustangs for the film Bullitt, in which McQueen starred.

McQueen’s modifications

McQueen had a couple of parts removed from his 275GTS/4 Spider and fitted to this Berlinetta.

The first of these was the aerodynamic side mirror that sits atop the driver’s side front wing.

And that’s not all

McQueen also swapped the glorious Borrani wire wheels from one Ferrari to the other.

As standard, the car had come with 14in Campagnolo magnesium alloy wheels.

However, McQueen reportedly drove his car so enthusiastically that he regularly broke spokes, and eventually was forced to replace the Borranis with the alloys the car was originally supplied with.

Interior charm

In addition, Steve McQueen had the inside of his 275GTB/4 modified, by having the seats retrimmed by star of the international drag-racing scene Tony Nancy.

Nancy had spent his formative years in the US Marine Corps, and upon his discharge spent time learning the upholstery and trimming trade.

He eventually opened his own workshop, Hollywood Custom Auto Interiors.

Cool day-to-day transport

In 1967, McQueen was a busy man, filming both The Thomas Crown Affair and Bullitt.

Indeed, McQueen reportedly used this car to commute to the set when he was working on Bullitt and was often seen driving the car while dressed as Frank Bullitt, the title character.

Horse power

Under the bonnet lies the stunning 3.3-litre Colombo V12 engine, which produces 300bhp and has a glorious soundtrack.

It is fuelled by no fewer than six Weber carburettors and drives the rear wheels though a five-speed gearbox.

The top speed is 163mph.

Times move on

In 1971, McQueen decided to sell the car, and fellow actor Guy Williams (perhaps best known for playing main characters in the television shows Zorro and Lost in Space) purchased it, partly by trading in his Maserati 3500GT.

He then had it repainted in a brighter shade of red.

Damaged and forgotten

The car’s third custodian was a police officer called JP Hyan, who purchased it in 1976.

However, the Ferrari received rear-end damage early in his ownership period and sat unused in a workshop covered in primer for four years.

Spider conversion

In 1980, the car was bought by trucking company boss Robert Panella for $32,000.

However, he really wanted a 275GTS/4 NART Spider, so he had the car you see here converted into a Spider by Costa Mesa coachbuilder Richard Straman using Scaglietti’s own chassis bucks.

The car was also repainted yellow and Panella paid $10,000 for the job. Straman converted only a handful of the cars, which are highly regarded.

Panella owned the car for a further 17 years.

Colour changes

After being sold by Panella, this classic Ferrari went through a couple of further owners, one of whom was financier Andrew Pisker.

He had it repainted once more, this time in Argento Autil (silver).

The restoration begins

The car was bought by Australian racing driver Vern Schuppan in 2009.

Schuppan won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1983 and has a top-three finish in the Indy 500 to his name, too.

In association with Ferrari Classiche in Maranello, he immediately embarked upon a quest to restore the car to the spec in which it was owned and driven by its first owner, Steve McQueen.

The initial quote to have the car put back to that spec was €88,000.

A Berlinetta once more

As part of that restoration, the car was turned back into a Berlinetta using the parts originally removed in the convertible conversion and a specially made jig by specialist firm Bacchelli & Villa.

It was even resprayed in its original Nocciola (hazelnut) hue before being painted once more in the Chianti Red colour specified by its first owner, Steve McQueen.

Lee Brown, who painted it for McQueen, provided a swatch of the colour so the repaint would be perfect.

Follow the clues

How can you tell that this car has the four-cam V12 under the bonnet?

Well, the clue is at the back, because the four-cam engine has longer hinges for the fastback bootlid.

What’s in a name?

Save the tiny Prancing Horse logo on that oh-so-long nose, and the Ferrari name on the bootlid, there’s nothing to tell you which company made the car.

And as for model designation? Ferrari was confident that its cars stood apart from everything else on the road, so badging was deemed unnecessary.

Designed for distance

The 275GTB/4 may have had the performance of a full-on supercar, but it was a GT at heart.

So, not only could you use it to travel a long way very quickly, but you could also take a couple of reasonably sized suitcases along; there was no need to pack light.

Just in case

Something else that fitted neatly into the Ferrari’s boot was the toolkit the car came with.

This contained various spanners, pliers, an oil-filter remover and a spare fanbelt, plus a few bulbs.

Hard labour?

You were expected to wind your windows up and down yourself back in 1967.

The manual winders on this Ferrari take a full five rotations to fully lower or raise the window.

Face to face

The instruments for the car were provided by Veglia.

The rev counter has a redline of more than 7500rpm. Some, admittedly larger-capacity, American V8s of the same vintage had redlines set at less than 5000rpm. The Ferrari was indeed a screamer.

High-definition display

Following its restoration to ‘McQueen spec’ by Ferrari Classiche, this 275GTB/4 was a star of a cinema-based exhibit at Ferrari’s museum in Maranello.

After that, owner Schuppan sold this car via RM Auctions, again at Monterey, to British collector David Moores. That was in 2014 and in 2016, he displayed it at the Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza in Italy.

Moores’ estate is now offering this famous Ferrari for sale.

Proof reading

When this car goes under the hammer in August, it will be sold with a Ferrari Classiche certificate, as well as a folder detailing all the work done during the restoration process.

Crucially, his will also contain proof that the car really was first owned by Steve McQueen.

Dream team

Although the 275 was designed by Pininfarina (as denoted by the badges on this car’s front wings), the bodywork was actually built by noted coachbuilder Carrozzeria Scaglietti.

This example is chassis number 10621, completed in late 1967.

Volume control

This classic Ferrari’s Ansa exhausts look stupendous and make all the correct noises.

As RM Sotheby’s, the auction house selling this car, says, ‘the exquisite 275 tantalises the imagination with its splendid McQueen associations’.

Tried and tested

In our feature back in 2014, we said: “As an out-and-out performance car, something you could stick roundels on and compete in just as it is, the Ferrari far exceeds expectations.

“And yet with its smooth ride, sharp, low-geared steering and flat, neutral handling at sane road speeds it similarly surpasses your hopes in how usable it might be off the track and in the real world.”

Let’s hope it is driven and enjoyed by its next owner.

Steve McQueen’s 1967 Ferrari 275GTB/4 will cross the block with RM Sotheby’s at its Monterey sale on 18-19 August 2023 – get full details here.