After two and a half decades, Steve McQueen’s legacy is keeping the star alive in everyone’s memory as he hogs the limelight with his one of exotic sportscar. One such legacy happens to be his 1963 Ferrari Berlinetta Lusso, which has been auctioned at whooping $2.31 million.
The car was put on auction at Christie’s annual flagship car auction and became a centre of attraction for the enthusiast bidders. Finally, an anonymous car collector became the owner of the car by bidding on phone.
Regalia, a professional restorer and seller of car bought the Ferrari ten years back and had put lots of hard work in conserving the beautiful masterpiece.
He said:
I couldn’t be happier for the car and the legacy of Steve McQueen. Without his ownership, it never would have received this value.
The star of ‘The Great Escape’, Bullitt’ and ‘Le Mans’, McQueen’s was an avid motorcycle and racecar devotee and owned Porsche 917, Porsche 908, Jaguar D-Type and Porsche 356 besides the Ferrari. His first wife, Neile Adams, gifted the Ferrari with Lusso’s brown metallic paint and beige leather interior to him in 1963.
He drove the car regularly for some five years. However there are no records that say when the car was sold by the actor, but during 1973 it belonged to a car collector in the Bay Area. Regalia came to know about it in 1995. He managed to get the car after two years with lots of bargaining and cajoling from that collector.
McQueen passed away at the age of 50, on November 7, 1980.
Source: CNN
