Carmel Magazine

ing his honorable discharge, used his G.I. Bill benefits to study acting at Sanford Meisner's Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. He caught the bug and worked in many stage productions before moving to California in the mid-1950s. The role of bounty-hunter-with-a- hear t-of-gold Josh Randall on the CBS TV series, "Wanted: Dead or Alive" got him the notice he needed to break into movies. Even at this early stage, it was clear that acting was merely a means to an end: "Acting's a good racket," he told an inter viewer, "and let's face it; you can't beat it for the bread." As his fortunes increased, so did the stable in his garage. According to his first wife Neile, he won an MG TC roadster in a poker game and demolished it in a New York City pothole. In his early, hardserabble days in the Big Apple, he tooled around town on a Triumph motorcycle. And all along, he was honing his skills as a racer. "Steve McQueen was a seri- ous, committed racer," says Matt Stone, Motor Trend editor and author of "McQueen's Machines." The man himself said, "It's only when I'm going fast, in a racing car or bike, that I can really relax." And, "I'm not sure whether I'm an actor who races or a racer who acts." Both those vocations came into play when, at the pinnacle of his fame, McQueen starred in the racing film "Le Mans." His character, Michael Delaney, utters a line that the actor must have been able to deliver direct- ly from his heart: "A lot of people go through life doing things badly. O ne car closely identified with Steve McQueen is his 1957 Jaguar XKSS, one of 16 that began life as racing machines and later converted to street cars after the manufacturer withdrew from racing for a time in 1955. Its 300-horsepower straight six gives it a power-to-weight ratio of one horsepower to eight pounds, propelling the SS from 0-60 MPH in under five seconds. Fast by today's standards, but warp speed in 1956. McQueen liked this car. A lot. So much so that he regretted selling it to Reno collector Bill Harrah and bought it back from him. The vehicle left the Coventry factory sporting a white paint job over a red interi- or, but preferring his cars to wear understated colors, the actor had it redone in British Racing Green with a black leather interior, giving rise to his nickname for the car : "The Green Rat." In an inter- view with Jay Leno, Matt Stone, Motor Trend editor and author of "McQueen's Machines," considered by many to be the definitive tome of Hollywood's most famous car guy, placed a value on this particular XKSS at "$25 to $30 million." Quite an impressive investment: the first time he bought it, McQueen paid $5,000. There is plenty of lore sur- rounding this automobile. One story holds that a Los Angeles police department chief had a standing offer of a steak dinner to the first cop to catch McQueen in the Green Rat and ticket him. The steak was never claimed. Today, McQueen's pride and joy is part of the collection of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. But organizers of the Carmel Mission Classic have scored a coup, bringing the legendary Green Rat to the event on Wednesday, August 13 from 10am-4pm. It's a rare treat, an opportunity for film buffs and car nuts to get up close and personal to a legendary automobile owned, driven and loved by an even more legendary driver. For more information, visit www.carmelmissionclassic.org. —Michael Chatf ield Photo: A.J. Gordon/Petersen Automotive Museum MCQUEEN'S GREEN RAT VISITS CARMEL 154 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R / F A L L 2 0 1 4 On his online video series "Jay Leno's Garage," the comedian/car collector positively gushed over McQueen's Jag, calling it "one of the most exciting cars in the history of the automobile."

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