There are many amazing things about the Jaguar XKSS. It was a road going version of the D-Type racer and as such, this 1957 model is often called the "world's first supercar". The XKSS is extremely rare. From an initial production run of 25 cars, nine were destroyed in a factory fire, leaving only 16 in existence. All this seems very overwhelming but the most talked about aspect of the XKSS was and always will be that movie star Steve McQueen once owned one. Well, actually, he owned the same one twice.

Anything automotive with a McQueen connection seems to to attain icon status. A 1970 Porsche 911S once owned by the movie star and featured in the film Le Mans sold for US$1.375m in 2011 and a 1968 Ford GT40 also used in Le Mans went for NZ$1.8m in 2012. A completely standard 1976 911 Turbo also owned by McQueen fetched $1.95m in 2015. An ex-McQueen 1967 Ferrari 275/4 went for US$10m in 2014 - nearly three times the projected value. And so on.

But any XKSS seems to benefit from the "McQueen effect". Enthusiasts speak about the model in awe, partly because it's so very rare and exotic, but also because it was known to be McQueen's favourite car. It was also the car he lavished most attention on. According to Matt Stone in his book McQueen's Machines, the XKSS was already a two-owner vehicle before the movie star purchased it in 1958. Price: US$5000. It was originally off-white with a bright red interior, but McQueen always favoured low-key colours for his low-flying machines and he had it refinished in British Racing Green with a black leather interior. Thus configured, McQueen dubbed his new car the "Green Rat". He kept the XKSS for 10 years and sold it to a collector in 1967. But 10 years later, in 1977, he decided he wanted it back and negotiated for two years until it was returned to the McQueen garage. After McQueen's death in 1980, the car was sold at a 1984 estate auction to a former neighbour who undertook a complete restoration including McQueen's quirky mods. The XKSS was sold to the Peterson Automotive Museum in 2000, as part of a collection that includes many iconic movie related machines including the 1967 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow (in low-key navy blue) driven by McQueen in the 1967 movie The Thomas Crown Affair.

The XKSS has been reborn. Fifty years later, the Jaguar Classic engineering team has produced nine "continuation" models, restoring those lost cars to the lineup. The new cars conform to that 1957 specification/build as closely as possible. Use the word "replica" at your peril: these machines are technically part of the original production run, albeit a tad late. An example of the NZ$1.76m continuation XKSS is being delivered to Giltrap Group in Auckland as you read this.