Steve McQueen's 1967 Ferrari NART Spider Heads to Auction With a US$20 Million High Estimate

One of only ten Ferrari 275 GTB/4S NART Spiders produced, the open-top V12 combines extreme rarity with ownership by Hollywood's most credible motoring icon.

A 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4S NART Spider formerly owned by Steve McQueen is heading to auction in New York with a reported estimate of US$15 million to US$20 million.

McQueen reportedly paid approximately US$15,000 for the Ferrari when new. Nearly six decades later, the car could be worth more than 1,000 times its original purchase price, a trajectory that puts it among the most insanely expensive Ferraris in the world.

That extraordinary increase is not attributable to celebrity ownership alone. The Ferrari is one of only ten factory-built NART Spiders, making it one of the rarest and most desirable open Ferraris of the post-war era.

Its association with McQueen adds another layer of provenance to a car that would command global collector interest even without a famous first owner.

Key Details

The auction estimate remains a projection. The final result will depend on bidding, documentation, mechanical condition, restoration history and the degree to which collectors value the McQueen connection.

What Is a Ferrari NART Spider?

The 275 GTB/4S NART Spider was conceived for the American market through Luigi Chinetti, Ferrari's influential United States importer and the founder of the North American Racing Team, a chapter that runs alongside how Ferrari's legend drove itself into history.

NART stood for North American Racing Team, the competition organisation through which Chinetti promoted Ferrari in the United States.

Chinetti believed an open version of Ferrari's 275 GTB/4 would appeal to wealthy American enthusiasts. Ferrari and Scaglietti produced the resulting NART Spider in extremely limited numbers.

The car combined the mechanical sophistication of the four-cam 275 GTB/4 with open bodywork designed for high-speed grand touring. Its 3.3-litre Colombo V12 was paired with a five-speed transaxle, while independent suspension and four-wheel disc brakes placed it among the most advanced road cars of its generation.

A proposed production run of 25 cars reportedly ended after only ten were built. What may have appeared commercially disappointing in period created exceptional scarcity for the modern collector market.

Why Steve McQueen Bought One

McQueen's interest in the NART Spider is closely connected with The Thomas Crown Affair, the 1968 film in which another NART Spider appeared, a film-prop connection not unlike how Dorothy's ruby slippers became the pinnacle of Hollywood memorabilia.

The film car, chassis 09437, was driven on screen by Faye Dunaway's character. It was the first NART Spider produced and had previously competed in the 1967 12 Hours of Sebring. It is not the same Ferrari as McQueen's personal car.

McQueen reportedly became captivated by the model after encountering the NART Spider associated with the film and acquired one for himself.

This distinction matters because reports frequently describe McQueen's Ferrari as "the car from The Thomas Crown Affair." The connection is real, but indirect. The film introduced McQueen to the model; his personal NART Spider was a different chassis.

Correct provenance is particularly important at this level of the collector-car market. Two visually similar cars can have materially different histories, values and cultural significance.

McQueen's Blue Sera Specification

The Ferrari is associated with an elegant Blue Sera exterior, a dark blue finish that gives the NART Spider a more restrained character than the red typically associated with Ferrari.

The colour contributes significantly to the car's identity. It also aligns with McQueen's well-established preference for machines that felt purposeful rather than theatrical.

McQueen was not a celebrity who merely accumulated expensive cars. He drove, raced and understood them. He competed in motorsport, participated in the 1970 12 Hours of Sebring and famously used the name Harvey Mushman when entering motorcycle events.

His personal vehicles carry unusual cultural weight because they are connected to a genuine enthusiast rather than simply a famous name, the same distinction that separates Cristiano Ronaldo's limited edition Bugatti Centodieci purchase from a purely investment-driven acquisition.

The Accident and Subsequent History

McQueen reportedly damaged the Ferrari in an accident not long after taking delivery.

The car was repaired, after which McQueen sold it. It subsequently passed through further ownership and underwent additional work during its later life.

For a collector considering an eight-figure acquisition, this history requires close examination. The most important questions include:

• Is the chassis structurally original?
• Does the car retain its original engine and gearbox?
• Which body panels were repaired or replaced?
• Who completed the accident repairs?
• Has Ferrari Classiche certified the car?
• Is its current Blue Sera specification historically correct?
• Which documents establish McQueen's ownership?
• How much of the present car dates from its original construction?
• Have later restorations altered its factory configuration?

A transparent accident and restoration history does not automatically diminish a historically significant competition-era Ferrari. Many important cars have been damaged, repaired, raced and rebuilt, scrutiny familiar to anyone tracking the biggest luxury car collectors in the world and how they vet an acquisition.

The decisive issue is documentation.

Why It Could Command US$20 Million

The valuation rests on several overlapping forms of scarcity.

One of Ten

A production total of ten places the NART Spider among the rarest road-going Ferraris of the 1960s, a scarcity comparable to the last existing Bugatti with the famed W16 engine going under the hammer at RM Sotheby's.

Four-Cam V12 Engineering

The 275 GTB/4 platform represents a celebrated period of Ferrari road-car development, combining a Colombo V12 with sophisticated chassis engineering and a rear-mounted transaxle, the kind of engineering send-off echoed decades later in Aston Martin's farewell for its final V12 Vantage.

Open Scaglietti Bodywork

The NART Spider offers the visual drama of an open Ferrari without sacrificing the performance character of the 275 GTB/4.

American Ferrari History

Luigi Chinetti's role connects the car with Ferrari's expansion in the United States and the racing legacy of the North American Racing Team.

Steve McQueen Provenance

McQueen remains one of the few celebrity owners whose name can materially transform the desirability of a collector car.

The strongest celebrity premiums arise when the individual's identity aligns naturally with the object. McQueen's relationship with cars and motorcycles was central to his life and screen mythology, making that connection unusually credible.

How Does the Estimate Compare With Other NART Spiders?

The most important public benchmark came in 2013, when another 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4S NART Spider sold for US$27.5 million, including fees.

That car had remained with the family of its original owner, Eddie Smith, and its sale proceeds were directed to charity. Its exceptional single-family provenance contributed to a result that established a record for a road car at auction at the time. 2013 NART Spider sale history

The US$15 million to US$20 million estimate for McQueen's Ferrari may therefore appear conservative beside that result, though it remains in the same territory as the record set when the Toyota 2000GT became the most expensive Japanese car ever sold.

However, collector cars cannot be valued by production number alone. Originality, restoration, ownership continuity, accident history, certification, colour and prevailing market conditions all influence the result.

McQueen's ownership provides exceptional cultural provenance. The 2013 car offered a different kind of attraction: remarkable continuity and long-term family ownership.

The auction will test how today's buyers rank those two forms of value.

The Celebrity Provenance Test

LuxuryAbode proposes the Celebrity Provenance Test, a framework for determining when a famous owner genuinely adds value to a collectible, the same discipline behind why the TAG Heuer Senna watch pays tribute to a racing legend so credibly.

McQueen's NART Spider performs strongly on alignment. The remaining factors will depend on the evidence presented with the car.

This is why a vehicle owned by a genuine racing enthusiast can attract a larger premium than a comparable car briefly registered to an unrelated celebrity.

The LuxuryAbode View

The McQueen Ferrari represents three collecting markets converging in one object: important Ferraris, Hollywood memorabilia and historically significant design, the same convergence that draws serious buyers to the ranks of the top classic cars of all time.

Its value does not come from any one layer in isolation.

Remove McQueen, and it remains one of ten NART Spiders. Remove the NART rarity, and it remains a Ferrari owned by one of cinema's defining motoring figures. Combine both, and the car becomes unusually difficult to substitute, the kind of object that draws the crowds every Monterey Car Week debut still competes with.

The reported US$20 million high estimate will attract attention, but the more revealing figure will be the premium bidders assign specifically to McQueen's ownership after accounting for the car's physical condition and restoration history.

At this level, collectors are not merely purchasing transport. They are acquiring a finite piece of cultural identity, the same instinct that fills India's growing list of luxury vintage car collectors.

LuxuryAbode welcomes documented collector-car histories, private collections, restoration archives and significant forthcoming auction consignments for independent editorial consideration.

Quotable Facts

• Ferrari produced only ten 275 GTB/4S NART Spiders.
• Steve McQueen's personal NART Spider was not the actual car used in The Thomas Crown Affair.
• The film car was chassis 09437 and was driven on screen by Faye Dunaway's character.
• Another NART Spider sold for US$27.5 million in 2013.
• The current car carries a reported auction estimate of US$15 million to US$20 million.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Ferrari owned by Steve McQueen is being auctioned?

The car is a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4S NART Spider, one of only ten examples produced.

Was Steve McQueen's Ferrari used in The Thomas Crown Affair?

No. A different NART Spider, chassis 09437, appeared in the film. McQueen's interest in the model was connected with the movie, but his personal car was another example.

How much could Steve McQueen's Ferrari sell for?

The reported estimate is between US$15 million and US$20 million. An estimate is not a guaranteed result.

What does NART mean?

NART stands for North American Racing Team, the competition organisation established by Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti.

What is the auction record for a Ferrari NART Spider?

A 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4S NART Spider sold for US$27.5 million, including fees, in 2013.