U.S. Army Willys Owned by Steve McQueen Sold at Auction
The late actor Steve McQueen bought this 1945 Willys Jeep directly from the U.S. Army and drove it up until his death in 1980. Now it's been auctioned for the second time.
The King of Cool
In case you're too young to know, or have been living under a rock for the past 40 years, Steve McQueen was a legendary actor, dubbed "The King of Cool," who starred in many iconic Hollywood movies including Bullitt, Papillion, The Great Escape, The Getaway, Le Mans, and the original Thomas Crown Affair. McQueen was also a successful race car driver who competed in the 12 Hours of Sebring, finishing second behind another legend, Mario Andretti. Success as an actor and driver enabled McQueen to assemble one of Hollywood's great car collections, which included this 1945 Willys that was just sold for the second time at auction.
An icon in the making
In early 1940, the U.S. Department of War solicited proposals for a light, cross-country, four-wheel drive, reconnaissance vehicle that could replace its aging fleet of mostly motorcycles and sidecars. Two manufacturers succeeded in securing the military contract: Willys Overland Motors with their MB quarter-ton Army truck, and later, Ford with their GPW. It only took two hundred days for this unlikely motoring icon to go from concept to production line. As the war progressed, Willys Overland produced over 300,000 Jeeps, and the Ford Motor Company was drafted into the war effort, boosting production with a contribution of over 250,000 units.
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The first auction
The 1945 Willys was bought directly from the U.S. Army by McQueen himself. We are not sure what year it was purchased, but it was still in his possession at the time of his death in 1980. It was sold as Lot 532 at the Steve McQueen Estate Auction in 1984 at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, to a Mr. J. McClughan of New Braunfels, Texas, for $6,000, which was ten times the going rate for a WW2 Jeep.
Photo above: American film actors Robert Wagner (left), Steve McQueen, and English actress Shirley Anne Field in a Jeep Willys MB talking to director Philip Leacock on the set of "The War Lover" (1962).
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Fully restored
More recently, the Willys was purchased from Mr. McClughan's estate and shipped to the U.K. where it was completely restored to the condition it would have been in during McQueen's ownership. The restoration process was completed by the Jeep experts at Jeeparts. It bears a classic blue California plate, with tags that expired on Halloween of 1980—just a week prior to McQueen's passing—and comes with a certificate of authenticity boasting the Jeep's provenance as McQueen's personal collection, affirmed by the signatures of his kids, Terry and Chad McQueen.
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Sold to the highest bidder
The Jeep was put up at auction at the NEC Classic Motor Show Sale 2018 at the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham, UK, on November 10 and sold for £84,375, or $106,726.
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More information
For more information on this iconic Jeep, see the auction listing on the Silverstone Auctions site.
>>Join the conversation about Steve McQueen's Willys Jeep MB right here in JK-Form.com.