If you can’t wait for Pebble Beach and the fantastic vehicles up for sale there, Auctions America is holding its California Auction this weekend, an event that features several famous Hollywood rides. This collection includes a rare 1984 Ferrari Testarossa Spider featured in a Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial, a 1957 Mercedes 300SL owned by actor Robert Stack, the 1951 Mercury Custom Convertible driven by David Lee Roth in the California Girls video, and in our opinion the coolest of the lot, this 1946 Indian Chief owned by the King of Cool himself, Steve McQueen.
What makes this bike especially significant is that it wasn’t just a motorcycle owned by McQueen, it was the first bike he ever owned. In 1971, McQueen was interviewed in Sports Illustrated and told this story that occurred right after he purchased the bike: ‘I was so proud of that Indian that I rode it over to see a girl I was dating,” he recalled. “She said, ‘You don’t expect me to ride around with you on that, do you?’ I surely did. The girl went and the bike stayed.’”
With that as a pedigree it would be hard to imagine a more desirable bike of this marque and vintage. This bike was sold at McQueen’s estate auction in 1984, completely restored in 1990 and comes with 100% of its documentation, guaranteeing its authenticity.
The Auctions America California Auction runs from August 1 through 3 in Burbank, California and will be broadcast on the NBC Sports Network. You can see all the items in this auction and register to bid at the Auctions America website, www.auctionsamerica.com