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McQueen's fans bid a cool £650k
By Oliver Stallwood, Metro 13.11.06
Boy racer: Steve McQueen in Le Mans
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Bidders paid more than £650,000 to buy a piece of Hollywood's coolest actor at the weekend. Cars, trucks, motorcycles and other items that once belonged to the late Great Escape star Steve McQueen were auctioned off.
His 1934 Indian Sport Scout motorbike went for £85,000, his 1920 Indian Powerplus Daytona racing bike for £78,500 and the Rolls-Royce he drove in The Thomas Crown Affair for £36,760.
Apair of Persol sunglasses that McQueen is believed to have worn in The Thomas Crown Affair went for £36,000. Queues formed around the block before the sale at Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
Fans from the US, Europe and Japan vied with dealers after McQueen's widow Barbara sold everything from his beloved motorbikes to items like a ballpoint pen. Auctioneers Bonhams confirmed bidders included Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates.
Barbara McQueen spent three-and-a-half hours signing her new book on the star. She said of the items: 'If McQueen drove it, rode it or wore it, it was cool.' The actor died aged 50 in 1980.
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