One of the star lots at the Bonhams motorcycle auction in Las Vegas on the 7th and 8th January was an ex-Steve McQueen Triumph Bonneville that finally took $103,500 (£70,991/€95,233) when the hammer came down.
While it’s a lot of money for a hacked-about 1963 Bonnie, the bike’s heritage as one of McQueen’s bikes makes it a one-of-a-kind machine.
Built by McQueen’s riding mentor and friend Bud Ekins, the Bonneville was intended for desert racing and unlike the usual preened and polished collectors’ bikes it still bears all the scars of a lifetime of serious use. Believe it or not, that simple green paint job was in fact laid down by McQueen’s friend Von Dutch, who set aside his usual pin striping because this bike’s intended role meant it was sure to be scratched and dented.
The bike was titled to McQueen’s production company, Solar Productions, in 1971, with McQueen’s own signature on the document. Following his death in 1980, it was sold at the McQueen estate auction in 1984.
Despite its heritage, the Triumph was by no means the most expensive bike to cross the block during the opening day of the Bonhams event. That award went to a unique 1951 Vincent White Shadow. Mechanically identical to the more famous Black Shadow, the White Shadow differed in that its engine cases were polished, bare metal instead of stove-enamelled in black. Only 15 were ever made, and the Bonhams machine is the only one to have been painted in the firm’s special-order ‘Chinese Red’ colour, usually only seen on Vincent Rapides. When the hammer finally came down, the bidding had reached an impressive $434,000 (£297,686/€399,337) including premium – around four times as much as some of the other Black Shadows sold on the same day.