Steve McQueen’s Shelby Cobra Fails To Sell At Auction For $1.1 Million Bid
The McQueen magic wasn’t enough.
A 1963 Shelby 289 Cobra Roadster with a connection to Hollywood icon Steve McQueen that crossed the block at the Mecum Auctions Monterey event on Friday failed to sell.
The restored black car received a high bid of $1.1 million, which wasn’t enough to meet its undisclosed reserve.
Mecum had given the car a pre-auction estimate of $1.25-$1.5 million, which is in the ballpark of other similar recent sales of the model without a celebrity provenance.
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One thing about this car is that it was never technically owned by McQueen. Film composer Elmer Bernstein purchased it in 1965 and loaned it to McQueen, who used it for two years until Bernstein sold it in 1967.
It also isn’t a factory restoration as it was originally silver with a red interior and was later modified for use in competition after being sold and shipped to Europe in 2002.
There, it was painted black and equipped with a black interior, roll bar Halibrand wheels, a hood scoop and chrome quick jacks for vintage racing. It then moved to the U.K., where it remained from 2006 until 2003.
That’s when it was painted black and equipped with a black interior, a roll bar, Halibrand wheels, a hood scoop and chrome quick jacks for vintage racing. It was later moved to the U.K., where it remained from 2006 until 2024.
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An original factory accessories package included a chromed air cleaner and valve covers, chromed front and rear bumper guards, a chromed luggage rack, wind wings and tinted sun shades, competition seat belts, a Smith heater and whitewall tires.
Another Cobra at the auction did sell for more than the McQueen car, however. The restored 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra Roadster was equipped with a Holman Moody-built 427 CI side oiler V-8 engine and sold for $1,210,000.
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