Return of the Manx
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.
