Thank you. Those were interesting times. My #4539 was dark green/tan. Someone had mentioned seeing Lussos in various colors not rosso. Best.
Steve McQueen = Class Act. That is the reason for the extra appreciation in value. He represents the very best of what every man should be.
i have a copy of "french kiss with death". about the filming of lemans, mainly. mcqueen had his warts if the story there presented is to be believed. tom w
Some months before McQueen passed and well before his illness was known publicly, I was in Paris visiting French actor and movie star Lino Ventura. The subject of McQueen came up and Lino said, "J'ai peur pour lui." (I'm afraid for him). It struck me at the time as an odd thing to say, though I didn't ask him what he meant by it. Later, when McQueen's passing was announced, I recalled that moment and wondered if Lino knew of McQueen's illness or if he'd had something of a premonition.
Steve McQueen obviously was one of the coolest guys on Earth. I believe the cancer he died of (mesothelomia) can be caused by the old brake asbestos dust every mechanic used to be exposed to in the old days. He was 50 years old when he died in November 1980. They say he also wore an asbestos-soaked rag when he raced (which can cause that type of cancer). Some of his treatment of Ali MacGraw was a bit harsh. A different era. A different kind of guy. Not sure that kind of behavior would work toward women nowadays. Anyway, it is the one brown Ferrrari I would love to own.
Even though the car is brown, it is stunning in person, especially in direct sunlight. Mike performed an exquisite restoration and didn't go over the top but went right to the edge. You won't find a more perfect Lusso anywhere. The only one I have seen that was anywhere near, is 5859 which originally belonged to Buddy Rich, and later to a close friend. I for one, am sorry to see Mike sell it, and I sincerely hope the next caretaker of history realizes their role.
""To further support that opinion, the original "Thomas Crown Affair" NART Spider was sold at Goodings Monterey in 2005 for about $4 million. I suspect that's twice what the price would have been without the McQueen connection. I don't think any other celebrity adds as much as he does."" FAYE DUNAWAY SAT ON IT IN THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR............
I remember looking at McQueen's Lusso with my father in '96/'97. We talked to the owner at the Palo Alto, CA concours where it was displayed for sale. IIRC, it was painted a light metallic blue at that point (not certain though). I do remember that it was looking very tired, one of the reasons my father passed on it. I'm struggling to remember, but I belive the ask price was $130k at that point. Looks like there may be plenty of room in the current sale price to cover the beautiful restoration. I've seen the car several times in Southern California since the restoration was completed and the car is stunning.
Here are a few more pics of the Lusso I found online: [edit by DM] Photos deleted at the request of the poster [edit] .
This car would make a great addition to your collection. Add a tow bar and use it to tow #0846 to the races . Would make an awesome period piece. And it could not be in better hands. Pete
"Took my Cobra down to the track, Hitched to the back of my Cadillac Everyone there was waiting for me, there were plenty of Stingray's and XKE's..."
some years back i went down to the collier museum to take pictures of the 1950 cadillac model 61 coupe that briggs cunningham contested lemans with in 50. (finished tenth). i was going to write an article for the cadillac newsletter. i crawled under it and took pictures hoping to find the subtle modifications that i just knew they had made. what i found was a totally stock chassis. the engine had a four barrel carb that appeared to be from a later caddy perhaps a 53. the exhaust manifolds were from a later one too. and of course dual exhaust system. (not stock for a 1950). the two carb setup described in contemporary descriptions of the car were not in evidence. i found the driving lights mounted on the front bumper with their small blocks of plywood as spacers and an adjusting screw on the bench seat back that appeared to allow adjustment of the rake and..... a bumper hitch. so i imagine that the 1950 tenth place lemans car was used in later years to tow things around.....like race cars. i imagine that that car could tell some pretty interesting stories. oh yeah, miles collier i believe it was, drove the caddy in the race in a dinner jacket, just for grins. the french loved the caddy, calling it " petite patuataud" (sp?) which means, i believe, small elephant. tom w
just try going to google and enter ferrari 250. this lusso is mentioned sometines twice on each page and i got up to page about 65. there is a lot of good info on the early cars which i am printing out for my library but who ever is selling this lusso is covering all the bases promoting this sale. i guess they think that the provenance here will get someone to pay a million plus to sit where steve sat. if he drove this car the way he drove the mustang in "bullet" i am not sure i would go near it. supposedly he did all his own driving making the movie. tongascrew