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Leno drives Steve McQueen’s XKSS

18 August, 2017

 


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The cover car of the current issue of NZ Classic Car is a Kiwi owned, one-of-nine reproduction of the timeless Jaguar XKSS. It’s a stunning car built with passion by Jaguar Land Rover Classics in the UK.

The original 16 XKSS’s are a rare breed, too. Valued at north of $15m, their provenance and performance make them one of the most lusted after classics on the planet.

But there is one car out of all of them that is more desired than any other; the XKSS that belonged to Steve McQueen (twice). That car now resides at the Peterson Museum in Los Angeles with a reputed value of upwards of $40m (this is called “the McQueen effect”).

For his YouTube show, Jay Leno’s Garage, Leno managed to get the keys to McQueen’s XKSS and take it out for a spin on the streets of L.A. I’ll let him explain the feeling (word is, his insurance premium for the drive in McQueen’s Jag was $80,000!).

Otherwise, check out the latest issue of NZ Classic Car for as close as we’ll ever get to the real thing. It’s quite something, we assure you.

 


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Westside story

25 October, 2024

For the young Dave Blyth, the Sandman was always the coolest car and he finally got one when he was 50. “I have always had a rule. When you turn 50, you buy or can afford to buy the car you lusted after when you were 20. I was 20 in 1979 and the HZ Sandman came out in 1978. It was the coolest of the cool — I just wanted one,” he says. “Back then a Sandman cost $4500 new and a house was worth about $20,000. I made about $30 a week so it was an impossible dream then.”
Dave was heavily influenced by the panel van culture of the time. “I started with an Escort panel van and upgraded to a Holden HD panel van with a 186ci six cylinder. I started a van club, Avon City Vans.

NZ Classic Car magazine, November/December 2024 issue 396, on sale now

20 October, 2024

It took 19 years for Steve Radich to achieve his dream of owning a Skyline Hakosuka, but what he ended up with is perfection in an extremely low-kilometre example which is our cover feature in this issue.
Back in 2005, Steve hatched a plan to one day own his dream Skyline: the legendary Hakosuka. Over the next 15 years, the list of Skylines Steve bought and sold went as follows. First was a 1998 Nissan Skyline GT, with two doors too many. It was replaced with a red GTT of the same year, but with the correct number of doors! Finally, in 2020, Steve found himself looking at a white 1999 GTR sitting in his shed.
“I was well down the path of getting to the dream of trading my way to owning a Hakosuka,” he says.”
Don’t forget that this edition also comes with our FREE huge wall poster. This issue features a fully restored 1968 Ford Cortina GT Mark II.