- Steve McQueen is best known for driving Porsches and Mustangs, but he had a fondness for 1950s Americana.
- This Hudson Wasp, which he drove up until his death in 1980, was a favorite.
- Having spent time at The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, it’s going up for auction in early October.
The name McQueen is most commonly associated with a dark green, V-8-powered Mustang, a Porsche 917 in Gulf orange and blue, or perhaps the curves of a road-going Jaguar XKSS. Then again, if you’re a younger fan, perhaps McQueen to you is a wisecracking red stock car—Ka-Chow!
Here’s an unexpected machine that fits into the overlaps of that McQueen Venn Diagram, a car that the late actor drove right up until he died, and one that’s a cousin to the car that helped young Lightning McQueen find his racing mojo.
McQueen’s Favorite Machine
Coming up for auction early next month at RM Sotheby’s is a special 1950s Hudson. Specifically, it’s a 1952 Hudson Wasp two-door Brougham that used to belong to none other than Steve McQueen.
The smaller relative of the NASCAR-winning Hudson Hornet, this little car has plenty of sting under its hood, with a straight-six engine fitted with the “Twin H-Power” package featuring dual intake manifolds and carburetors. The transmission is a four-speed automatic, which is pretty uncommon to see on a ’50s Wasp.
Steve McQueen had plenty of racier stuff, from Ferraris to Porsche 911s, and that aforementioned jaw-dropping Jaguar. But he was fond of Hudson’s automobiles and owned several of them, including a 1953 Hornet and a 1950 Custom Commodore Six convertible.
This ’52 Wasp was a regular driver, what McQueen called his Sunday-go-to-church car. It’s been loved but clearly used, with a few dents and some paint-crazing here and there. The odometer shows 63,537 miles.
Sold at McQueen’s estate sale back in 1984, this Wasp has spent the last 19 years tucked away in the collection at The Petersen Automotive Museum. It’s been carefully cataloged and is now looking for a new owner.
As a piece of McQueen memorabilia, it’s bound to be far more reasonable than trying to park the Mustang from Bullitt in your garage. The original from the movie sold for $3.74 million five years ago, setting a record for Mustangs.
This Hudson Wasp should fetch a much more reasonable mid-five-figure amount when it goes under the hammer. It’s quick, classy, and comes with a great provenance. Just the thing for going to church—or a car show—on Sunday morning.
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Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
