--- title: "Steve McQueen’s Daily Driver Is for Sale After 19 Years in a Museum" date: "2025-09-13" modified: "2025-09-13" authors: - name: "Andrew P. Collins" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/andrew-p-collins" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/steve-mcqueens-daily-driver-is-for-sale-after-19-years-in-a-museum" categories: - "Culture" - "For Sale" - "History" - "News" - "People" --- # Steve McQueen’s Daily Driver Is for Sale After 19 Years in a Museum ![Steve McQueen's Hudson]() *\RM Sotheby's\* Actor and cool-guy archetype [Steve McQueen]() is inextricably associated with the [*Bullitt* '68 Ford Mustang Fastback]() and [Porsches from *Le Mans*](). But when he was running errands, driving to church, or just going to the airport, he often drove this 1952 Hudson Wasp. The car has lived at the Petersen Museum in LA since 2006, and is now headed to an RM Sotheby's auction. Celebrity connection aside, it's an incredibly cool car with many neat design details captured in the auction house's deep photo gallery. The car's full name is 1952 Hudson Wasp Twin H-Power Two-Door Brougham. It's going to be sold at Sotheby's Hershey auction in Hershey, Pennsylvania (yes, where the chocolate comes from) on October 9, but you can also bid on it online or over the phone. It's [Lot 246]() if you're interested; the estimated sale price is between $40,000 and $60,000. Hudson Wasps in good shape seem to be selling in the $20,000 to $40,000 neighborhood, but obviously, this would be an exceptionally special one to collect. ![Steve McQueen at Santa Paula airport hangar. You can see the Hudson behind him. Barbara Minty McQueen/RM Sotheby's]() *Candid photo of McQueen washing vehicles at his personal Santa Paula airport hangar. You can see the Hudson behind him. *Barbara Minty McQueen/RM Sotheby's** I have to admit I haven't thought about Hudson cars since the last time I watched [*Cars 1*,]() which was a few years ago, over some stranger's shoulder on a seatback screen on a flight. Of course, "Doc Hudson" from the movie was a Hudson Hornet, which was slightly longer, but the basic design is extremely similar to the Wasp. And that design is really quite cool. It's a great example of the classic '50s diner streamliner aesthetic, heavily accentuated by the novel covered back wheels. Meanwhile, huge bumpers give it an almost utilitarian look that grounds the design and makes it feel downright practical. The cockpit is pure class—again, big time diner vibes, and the couch for a bench seat looks like a great place to lounge. Under the hood is an inline six with a Power Dome cylinder head and Twin-H Power carburetor setup. It has a Hydra-Matic Drive transmission with a column shifter. As you'll notice as you scroll through the images, the car is clean but far from mint. It's got 63,537 miles on it (pretty high for a car from the '50s!) and there are plenty of dings and rust bubbles. The paint on the roof is toast. Take a swipe through the slideshow here: - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() - ![]() [][][] I would leave it exactly as-is; it looks lived-in, which, to me, is perfect. Can't say I'm a McQueen superfan, but I would definitely get a kick out of driving around in his old “Sunday-go-to-church-car.” *Got a tip? Drop us a line at tips@thedrive.com.* ## Author As Executive Editor, Andrew touches everything on the site from daily news coverage to feature stories, sponsored content, product reviews, road testing vehicles, ecommerce, and more. He's held pretty much every role there is to have at an automotive news site and has been with The Drive's publisher Recurrent since 2020. Andrew's a lifetime gearhead and longtime writer with a particularly strong penchant for road trips, off-road adventures, and archaic vehicles. His passions outside of the automotive world include skiing, obsolete video games, and his dog Bramble who occationally helps review cars. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()