Movie Cars: 5 Things About The Thomas Crown Affair
Costars on wheels in the Steve McQueen–Faye Dunaway thriller
The Thomas Crown Affair, the 1968 thriller starring Steve McQueen as a thieving millionaire and Faye Dunaway as the investigator out to nab him, features an array of memorable cars, including one of the greatest automobiles ever to appear on the silver screen. Here are the top five:
1967 Ferrari 275 GTS/4 N.A.R.T. Spyder
What is there to say about a car that last sold in 2013 for just under $28 million? Though it appears in The Thomas Crown Affair more to provide some Ferrari star power – and to serve as the subject of the movie’s most memorable line when a character calls it “one of those little red Italian things” – the Spyder steals every scene it’s in. Only ten were made and, fittingly, Thomas Crown star Steve McQueen ended up owning one of them.
1967 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Fixed Head Sedan
The Thomas Crown Affair’s most famous car is undoubtedly the Ferrari, but the car that spends the most time onscreen is this classic Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, a limited-edition, two-door sedan built to order by Rolls-Royce’s in-house coachbuilder, H J Mulliner, Park Ward Ltd., and powered by a 6.2-liter V8. Shouldn’t every millionaire whose hobby is robbing banks own one?
Meyers Manx Dune Buggy
When McQueen’s character wasn’t driving the Rolls, he was tearing up the dunes of Ipswitch, Massachusetts, in this little hot rod. As the story goes, when the star learned that a Jeep was being considered for the film’s wild beach-ride scene, he contacted Meyers Manx and had the manufacturer build a dune buggy customized to his specs. The red-orange beach blazer that resulted was powered by a four-barrel Corvair engine that delivered 240 hp and was equipped with American Racing wheels and Firestone Racing tires from the Granatelli’s STP Special turbine Indy car.
1965 Cadillac DeVille Convertible
Completely redesigned, the 1965 Cadillac DeVille had a new look of understated elegance. Longer, lower, and sleeker than any Cadillac before it, stripped of unnecessary chrome trim for a more refined look, the car was 224 inches long with a 129-inch wheelbase. Its huge 429-cc V8 engine delivered 340 hp. Though the iconic tail fins were gone forever, this Caddy set the standard of excellence for American automotive luxury cars for years to come.
1958 Austin-Healey 100/6
The 1958 Austin-Healey 100/6 makes just a cameo appearance in Thomas Crown, but any classic car aficionado is able to recognize its clean, classic lines. The Austin-Healey 100/6 made its first on-screen appearance in School for Scoundrels, the 1960 British movie starring Alastair Sim, Terry-Thomas, and Ian Carmichael. In 2012, it fetched $138,652.
