Steve McQueen Dune Buggy on Display at the Upcoming London Concours

Watching the 2014 documentary I Am Steve McQueen, narrated by Robert Downey Jr., I was reminded of the natural charisma and presence on screen that McQueen commanded, especially in the 1960s. He had a way of capturing the attention of the audience, exuding an aura of confidence and coolness that made him stand out from other actors of his time. I can’t think of any actor now that matches that today. Then there was his love of sports cars and motorbikes. McQueen was an accomplished driver, and competed as an amateur in motor sports races.

The Great Escape (1963) and Bullitt (1968) were his two most successful films of the 1960s, as was The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), starring alongside Faye Dunaway. The London Concours is having an event June  4-6, to be held at the Honourable Artillery Company near Old Street in London, celebrating cars of the stars from the “Swinging Sixties” that will feature the dune buggy (Meyers Manx, based on the Volkswagen Beetle chassis) McQueen drove in The Thomas Crown Affair, the one in which he raced up sand dunes and splashed through waves.

McQueen got involved in the design of the movie car, and had it fitted with a ‘flat-six’ Chevrolet Corvair engine producing three times the power of the VW one, as well as a speedboat-style wraparound windscreen, headlights faired into the bonnet and American Racing wheels.

Also on the display at the event will be Eric Clapton’s 1969 Ferrari 365 GTC Berlinetta and the Aston Martin DB6, a two-door coupe that was the choice of the Beatles’ Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger, as well as model Twiggy and actor Peter Sellers.