The original The Thomas Crown Affair overflows with automotive eye candy. There’s an evocative promotional image of Steve McQueen with a dark blue Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow two-door (later known as the Corniche), and rarer still is his character’s Ferrari 275 GTB/4 NART Spyder. Exactly the sort of thing a millionaire playboy thief (or indeed movie star) would drive in 1968.
But neither is actually the film’s most famous car. McQueen, a man who likely had issues with impulse control but also the means to indulge it, was perusing the August 1966 issue of Hot Rod magazine when he realized its cover star was something he needed in his life. This was a… well, what was it, exactly? It looked like a beach buggy.
McQueen invariably got involved in Thomas Crown’s pre-production. The film’s screenplay outlined a scene in which his character and the insurance agent investigating him (played by Faye Dunaway) razz around a beach in a Jeep. McQueen insisted on casting the buggy, albeit one that was modified according to his exacting specifications. It had been dreamed up by a Californian surfer called Bruce Meyers.
Winning the Mexican 1000, 1967
He enlisted the help of an east coast vehicle shop called Con-Ferr whose co-owner Pete Condos worked with him to personalize the car. A slimline speedboat-style windscreen, centrally mounted headlights with fairings, and rear luggage rack were all added. “Mag” wheels were cast and wrapped in Firestone competition rubber. Out went the thrummy air-cooled VW engine, replaced by a bigger six-cylinder unit sourced from a Chevrolet Corvair. Not that you can hear it on the film, whose sound editors evidently preferred a V8 snarl.
