It it must have been the most expensive car at the NEC Classic Car show last week, Chris Evans only brought his Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spyder not the £5m SWB version, and it certainly was one of the most evocative. Steve McQueen's 250 Lusso was a mere $2.3m a few years ago and is now apparently living in the UK.
What strikes you first of all is the audacity and confidence that must have inspired the colour scheme, the paint is a medium-brown metallic hue called Marrone. This is decidedly unconventional in a world where most 250s are red, some are a conservative navy or possibly, if courageous, canary yellow. However, it works beautifully, especially with the beige leather interior; in the flesh it looks elegant and tastefully understated.
The book McQueen's Machines does a good job of describing the story behind the car. Apparently it was purchased by his wife for his 34th birthday and cost $14k. It features the same v-12 configuration as the 250 GT/SWB and GTO with three 36-DCS Webers giving around 250bhp. McQueen owned it for three years and sold it after his attempts to stop it burning oil failed. The valve guides would wear quickly and even after a rebuild the problem persisted. Oh the joys of Ferrari ownership.
Photo (c) Watson Family Archives
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