Steve McQueen vs Lewis Hamilton in slick promo video

Time piece maker Tag Heuer has created a clever new promotional video using clips of Steve McQueen’s famous car movie, Le Mans. The premise is a duel between the racing driver/hard man McQueen in his Gulf-liveried Porsche 917 and current F1 golden-boy Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren Mercedes.

There’s some well-worked scenes with both drivers interacting as well as some cool racing action. The clip is worth a watch (pun intended) and if you’re willing to enter the competition to pick a “winner” you could win a number of prizes, including a shiny Tag Heuer time piece, one of Hamilton’s helmets or an F1 driving experience.

Check out the clip below or click here to go to the Tag Heuer website.

McQueen’s Machines: The Cars and ¨Bikes of a Hollywood Icon – 209

Steve McQueen, iconic legend of the big screen, is best remembered for his wild car chases, motorcycle stunts and crazy motor racing action and he’s still famous 25 years after his death. Affectionately referred to as the ‘King of Cool’, McQueen had a life-long love of fast vehicles, building his first hot-rod before he could legally drive and racing motorcycles as a student.

No other Hollywood star has been as closely associated with such wild automobile antics, and this book is full of what McQueen knew and loved: fast cars, fast bikes, racing and off-roading, a mix which will appeal to his admirers and to racing fans world wide.

McQueen’s Machines: The Cars and ¨Bikes of a Hollywood Icon by Matt Stone
Review book provided by Techbooks
Review by Ashley Webb

1966 Dodge Charger – Charger Account – 201

So often our image of a car is based more on images from Hollywood than the manufacturer’s intended persona. Ever since that black Charger chased down Steve McQueen’s Mustang in Bullitt, the Charger’s had a reputation as a bad guy.

But, like many folklore characters, that wasn’t really the Charger’s intended role at all; this was a luxury automobile — grand touring in the true sense of the word, American-style.
So, whilst it was to be Dodge’s answer to the then popular fastback craze, it was an altogether more luxurious and spacious machine than the utilitarian Mustang. But man, did it have some performance, and Dodge’s PR guys knew it: “Plant one of these in your driveway. Watch your neighbours turn green. Charger’s a luxury car that is nimble and quick enough and challenging enough to make you glad you can’t afford a chauffeur.”

A fishy story

The 1966 Charger was born from the Dodge Dealer Council’s request for a Plymouth Barracuda-type vehicle (Plymouth and Dodge being fellow bed-mates in the Chrysler stable). However, Burt Bouwkamp, Dodge’s chief engineer, was told — “For God’s sake don’t make it a derivative of the Barracuda.”