STEVE McQUEEN'S FERRARI FOR SALE

In addition to being one of Hollywood's coolest actors, Steve McQueen was also a racer and car collector. This stuntman-turned-actor liked to play hard, and his personal vehicle collection showed that. He actually owned one of the Bullitt Mustangs, plus the Porsche 917 and 911S from Le Mans. And McQueen was also fond of Ferraris. His very first one, in particular, was among his favorite cars by most accounts. It was a Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso. The Lusso, or "Luxury" Ferrari was a derivative of the 250 GT platform that spawned the legendary GTO and SWB. With its long flowing lines, it is considered to be among the most elegant GT cars of all time.

Steve's personal Lusso was finished in a metallic brown that was allegedly custom-ordered for its understated good looks, and it became his daily driver for more than ten years. Since leaving McQueen's collection, it has has passed through several hands before landing with its current owner in 1997. Since then, it has undergone a 4,000-hour concours-quality restoration and is considered one of the finest Lussos in the world. The car has been shown regularly on the West Coast since then and is now about to cross the auction block. Christie's will be offering it at Monterey in August, and estimates predict a sale in the $800,000 to $1,000,000 range. Before heading to Monterey, however, the car will be touring with the Christie's auctions when they hit New York in May, and in Greenwich in June.