SUBSCRIBE TO THE
MAGAZINE NOW
Facebook-f Instagram

Leno drives Steve McQueen’s XKSS

18 August, 2017

 


unnamed (2).jpg

 

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.

 


unnamed (2).jpg

Dad will love this!

29 August, 2026

Subscribe or gift a subscription to NZ Classic Car magazine for one year this Father’s Day, and go into the draw to win one of two luxury car care packages worth $570 from Lovecars.
The prize: Adam’s Foam Cannon Kit includes a complete pressure-washer foam cannon setup; Michelle’s Car Wash Kit takes care of everything after the foam. It includes Autostolz Premium Auto Wash, Enhanced Ceramic Spray Wax, and loads more.
Together, you’ve got the setup to foam, wash, protect and dry your car properly – using some of NZ’s top-selling car detailing products.
A seriously good prize for anyone who loves keeping their car looking its best.

Motorsport Flashback: The Temple of Speed

28 August, 2026

On the banks of the Lambro River is Europe’s largest enclosed park, all 688 hectares of it. Parco di Monza was commissioned by the son of an Austrian empress as a summer retreat in the late 1700s, but it would be for another century and a half before ground was broken on what would become Italy’s famous theatre of speed at the park’s northern end. One hundred years ago on 3 September, less than four months after work started, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza was officially opened and the first race – appropriately, the Italian Grand Prix – was run a week later. Monza was the world’s third purpose-built circuit, after Brooklands and Indianapolis, and was the result of the Milan Automobile Club financing the 3500 workers who created the super-quick, and consequently dangerous, track that made the word ‘Monza’ synonymous for speed.