Steve McQueen's Jaguar XKSS: is it real?

Many years ago I went to an auction of Steve McQueen memorabilia in Las Vegas (which consisted of a lot of souvenirs that were worthless like publicity pictures not signed by him( and I remember Steve McQueen's XKSS was being sold. At the time I had a biography of McQueen and it said his first wife, the actress/dancer, gave him a replica XKSS on his birthday. So I was wondering if it was real or a replica.

Then I read that it was restored by Lynx Motorsport in the UK=--the very same folks that make D-type replicas and xKSs cars are based on D-types.
I also heard the car was sold by McQueen to Harrahs, then bought back by him and owned by him until he died.

So ultimately I am asking do most people agree the McQueen SS is a real car with huge gaps in its owner history? I know we would all like to own a car owned by an enthusist like McQueen but I'd like to believe it was the real thing...

 

Steve McQueen?s XKSS to anchor new Petersen Museum Jaguar exhibit | Hemmings Daily

looks like they think its real

 

Owned by Ralph Lauren I think.

 

A Lynx is a pretty good replica, but there's no way it would be confused for an authentic XKSS. For one, the chassis and suspension are E-type, as are the brakes.

 

McQueen owned the real deal back in the day...way before there were any replicas. I think he bought his in the late 1950's....

 

I saw the car at the Petersen and it was McQueens, or at least they represent it as such. Apparently, it's the only XKSS with a glove box door which Von Dutch made so McQueens sunglasses wouldn't fly out

 

I think Mr. McQueen's car may be in this photo from Monterey a few years back:
(NOTE: Not my photo, but credit given to CARSUK )

I believe the gents at Pebble generally know what is real and what is not. Most of the time, at least.
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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ai0uSj_OVE&list=UUQMELFlXQL38KPm8kM-4Adg]Steve McQueen's 1956 Jaguar XKSS - Jay Leno's Garage - YouTube[/ame]

 

Formerly owned by Richard Freshman, now part of the permanent Peterson Collection. Given the hysteria over anything with McQueen provenance, this is probably one of the world's most valuable cars. Certainly the most valuable Jaguar.

 

One of the worlds great cars.

When Steve was doing the show Wanted Dead or Alive for one year Leave it to Beaver was shot at the same studio. One day between their scenes Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers were playing catch in the parking lot, the ball got away and broke the windshield in the XKSS. They were scared to death to tell McQueen. They said he was really cool about it and just made them promise not to play near his cars anymore.

 

Don't tell that to any Frazer Nash TT aficionados.

 

More valuable than the D-Type that won Le Mans? Debatable...

 

Or read Matt Stone's book.

The Steve McQueen Jaguar
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That's a cool story.

 

Damn right

 

It was purchased by Richard Freshman of Fossil Motorsports fame, a Malibu neighbor and acquaintance of McQueen at McQueen's 1984 Imperial Palace Hotel Estate Sale in Las Vegas for $147,500. According to Freshman the glove box door was fabricated and installed by Von Dutch at the time McQueen owned the car. He confirmed this in conversations with Von Dutch who Freshman had known from his teenage days hanging around Bud Ekin's Van Nuys California Motorcycle shop (where Freshman first encountered McQueen and the car) and later with Von Dutch at Jim Brucker's (another Freshman friend and Harry Miller compatriot)) Santa Paula warehouse where Von Dutch lived out of his bus and worked in his last years. Freshman performed an exceptionally carefully executed preservation directed restoration of the car in concert with Lynx Engineering keeping the original Tony Nancy interior and all other specific McQueen modifications intact after much research of period photos etc.. He then kept it for many years driving it to and from his El Matador Beach Malibu beachfront residence to his shop in Chatsworth California, as well as on late night Malibu area canyon blitz runs and other such entertainment until selling it directly to Robert Petersen personally for the museum in the latter 90s for an undisclosed seven figure number. Current reliable rumor: The Petersen has been solicited many times in the past and most recent times with offers over well in excess of 30 million. Highly doubt it will be ever sold as Freshman made it clear that he sold it to Petersen because of the fact it is a cornerstone attraction for the museum to be shared with the public and due to McQueen being the quintessential LA motor head car guy.

 

No gaps at all:

1957/aug - Jim Peterson
1958/late - Steve McQueen
(some say: 1958 - Bill Leyden and early 60-ies - Steve McQueen)
1967/oct - William Harrah Automobile Collection
1978/feb - Steve McQueen
1984/nov - Richard Freshman
2000 - Peterson Automotive Museum