I STILL GET GOOSE PIMPLES
BY STEVE McQUEEN WITH KEN RUDEEN
A STAR AMONG FAST FRIENDS
STEVE McQUEEN IS SOMEWHAT BETTER KNOWN AS A MOVIE ACTOR ("THE GREAT ESCAPE," "NEVADA SMITH") THAN AS A DRIVER OF FAST CARS. BUT AS HE DEMONSTRATES BELOW, CORNERING SMARTLY IN THE NEW JAGUAR 2+2, AND AS HE SAYS IN THE STORY BEGINNING ON PAGE 39, HE "AIN'T A BAD DRIVER, EITHER." FORMERLY A SPORTS CAR RACER OF PROMISE, McQUEEN WAS ORDERED OFF THE TRACKS BY HIS STUDIO, ON THE THEORY HIS BEAUTIFULLY BATTERED FACE NEEDS NO FURTHER CORRUGATIONS. HE HAS NOT LOST HIS ENTHUSIASM FOR SWIFT MOTORING, HOWEVER, AND WHEN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED ASKED HIM TO DRIVE EIGHT OF THE WORLD'S MOST DISTINGUISHED GRAND TOURING CARS ON THE RACE COURSE AT RIVERSIDE, CALIF., HE WAS, AS THEY SAY, FLAT OUT. KEEP READING FOR PICTURES OF STEVE IN A REAL-LIFE ROLE, AND FOR HIS ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE GRAND TOURING ART IN THIS MIDSUMMER 1966.
SIZING UP THE NEW JAGUAR 2+2, DRIVER McQUEEN FOUND IT "VERY SMOOTH DOWN THE BACK STRAIGHT AT 110 MPH," YET STILL SUITABLE FOR TRIPS WITH THE FAMILY. MRS. McQUEEN, HE REPORTED, WAS "KIND OF KEEN ON IT."
THE CORVETTE STING RAY (ABOVE) IMPRESSED McQUEEN -- AND SURPRISED HIM A LITTLE -- WITH ITS POWER, FINE HANDLING AND ACCURATE STEERING. TOP MODEL ($5,538) HAS A BIG 427-INCH V-8 ENGINE AND HEAVY DUTY SUSPENSION.
THE FERRARI 275 GTS WITH A 3.3-LITER V-12 ENGINE, REAR-MOUNTED FIVE SPEED GEARBOX AND PININFARINA COACHWORK DREW A WORSHIPFUL "WOW!" FROM STEVE, WHO REGARDS FERRARI AS A SUPREME ENGINEER. PRICE: $14,500.
THE ALFA ROMEO SPIDER (ABOVE), THE LATEST MODEL FROM SMALL, DISTINGUISHED MILAN WORKS, CORNERED BRILLIANTLY, AND HAD SUPERIOR BRAKES. McQUEEN ALSO ADMIRED ITS LOOKS, BUT WOULD HAVE LIKED MORE POWER IN A $4,000 CAR.
THE PORSCHE 911 DELIGHTED McQUEEN WITH PREDICTABLE HANDLING IN FURIOUS CORNERING, PROVING THAT PORSCHE HAS SOLVED THE OVERSTEER PROBLEMS STEVE REMEMBERED FROM HIS RACING DAYS. THIS REAR-ENGINED 6 COSTS: $6,450.
THE ASTON MARTIN DB6 (ABOVE), THE MOST EXPENSIVE MODEL TESTED ($15,400), STRUCK McQUEEN AS A "GENTLEMAN'S CAR" IN ITS CLEAN DESIGN, LUXURIOUS APPOINTMENTS, AND VIRILE PERFORMANCE, BUT FIFTH GEAR WAS DISAPPOINTING.
THE SHELBY COBRA 427 WAS "A REAL STOPLIGHT BANDIT" ON ACCELERATION, ATTESTING TO THE STRENGTH OF ITS 7-LITER PUSHROD V-8. McQUEEN WAS LESS PLEASED WITH ITS HANDLING, AND FELT THE SEAT BELT POSITIONING SHOULD BE IMPROVED. PRICE: $7,495.
THE MERCEDES 230SL WAS HANDSOME AND HANDLED WELL. "I DROVE IT HARD AND GOT IT OUT OF SHAPE A BIT," McQUEEN NOTED, "AND IT BEHAVED VERY NICELY, NEVER TRIED TO BITE ME." THE MERCEDES AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WAS THE BEST FROM EUROPE HE HAD SEEN, "VERY SUITABLE FOR PEOPLE WHO DO NOT LIKE TO SHIFT."
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