The Auctions America will offer at California Auction from August 1-3 in Burbank, California a rare collection of cars and motorcycles. Among all, from the collection stands out, 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. The highlight of the auction will be 1946 Indian Chief owned by the King of Cool himself, Steve McQueen.
Indian motorcycles were manufactured from 1901 to 1953 by a company in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, initially known as the Hendee Manufacturing Company but which was renamed the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company in 1928. The Indian factory team took the first three places in the 1911 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. During the 1910 Indian became the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world. Indian’s most popular models were the Scout, made from 1920 to 1946, and the Chief, made from 1922 to 1953.
Interestingly, this engine is the first bike that Steve McQueen 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.’”
