Motorbike news

Steve McQueen possessions go for a song in LA

Fans of legendary movie star Steve McQueen have spent more than £1.5 million buying his belongings at an auction in Los Angeles.

Among the items sold were a pair of the actor's sunglasses that went for £36,000, a battered baseball cap that fetched nearly £3,000 and a 1958 pick-up truck that more than doubled it's anticipated price and was sold for £67,000.

Speaking before the auction, McQueen's widow said, "For more than 25 years I have held onto the many items Steve collected. But I know there is a public who would love to own a piece of his collection out of their love, respect and admiration for him."

And she wasn't wrong. The world's top five captains of industry, including Bill Gates and Donald Trump, were thought to have been among the thousands of telephone bidders that participated in the Bonhams auctions and some items went for as much as 100 times more than was expected.

As reported back in September by BP365, the motorbike accident experts, several of Steve McQueen's bikes were up for sale and all were snapped up by enthusiastic buyers. They included a 1920 Indian Powerplus Daytona that was bought for £78,500 and a 1934 Indian Sport Scout that went for £85,000.

Mark Osbourne, auctioneer with Bonhams & Butterfields, wasn't surprised at the success of the sale and told reporters, "I believe that I literally could have sold tickets for just the shortest glimpse of the room where we catalogued this property.

"If McQueen drove it, rode it or wore it, it was cool."

For more information about further auctions at Bonhams, go to www.bonhams.com.