Steve McQueen is often dubbed the “King of Cool,” but few learner drivers can have felt quite as cool as 27-year-old Swiss chef Alfred “Fredy” Zurbrügg on the day the movie star gave him a 1970 E-Type Jaguar with just 600 miles on the odometer. Zurbrügg’s culinary talents had been spotted when he worked as a chef on the Bond movie “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” and, as a result, he was appointed to cater for McQueen’s passion project movie, “Le Mans.” The chaos of the production was epic yet the results are now lauded by many as a masterpiece of the genre. Zurbrügg, though, was more concerned with cooking upwards of 800 meals a day for the huge roster of cast and crew, including a specialty “Steve Steak” for the movie’s star and guiding light who, as a gesture of appreciation, walked Zurbrügg to a lineup of cars and said, “Choose one.” Before him, from McQueen’s personal fleet, were a Porsche 911, Mercedes-Benz SL and the Series II E-Type roadster. In the course of filming, Zurbrügg passed his driving test on the second attempt and retained the cherished E-Type for 52 years, until parting with it in 2022. The story of the E-Type and McQueen’s largesse and generosity is recounted more fully in the 2017 book “Our Le Mans, The Film, The Friendship, The Facts.” As for the car, aside from its unique associations, it also has a highly singular story to tell. Although first registered in the UK, hence the U.K. registration plate, it is a U.S.-spec 4.2L version that was originally intended for shipping to the United States. Used sparingly by Zurbrügg rather than as a daily driver, its odometer reads just below 46,000 miles. Moreover, it also possesses an enviable degree of originality, as to this day it remains in unrestored condition. Unlike many other celebrity- owned cars, whose essence has been diluted by restoration, there is no degree of separation here. Put simply, you touch what Steve McQueen touched in 1970. When he parted with the E-Type in 2022, the then 80-year-old Zurbrügg recalled, “Everything in my life seemed to boil down to this half year in Le Mans and was later somehow connected and defined by it.” Today, it offers a unique and tangible link to those heady days and to a movie star whose deep passion for cars turned into the epic, cinematic personal odyssey that is Steve McQueen’s “Le Mans.”
