A Steve McQueen Tribute Jaguar XKSS Was Found 2 Months After It Was Stolen


In December, the owner of a Steve McQueen tribute Jaguar XKSS reported that the car had been stolen from a “locked garage,” with a reward offered for the car’s safe return. On Wednesday, police in Texas said they had successfully recovered the car, in part because of all the attention the theft had received on the internet.
West Lake Hills Police said on Facebook that on Tuesday they executed a search warrant at a storage facility in North Austin, Texas, where they found the car along with other property all said to be worth $625,000. The vehicle’s owner, identified as Matthew Briggs, said that he was pleased with the result.
“I am incredibly grateful to all the officers and detectives that worked on my case,” Briggs was quoted by police as saying. “Their attention and dedication to finding my car was impressive and truly appreciated.”
Police did not say whether any arrests were made. The tribute Jaguar was made by Team CJ Works, an auto restoration shop in Austin. It was built with an E-Type donor car, and its 4.7-liter motor makes 390 horsepower, according to Team CJ Works. Road testing for the XKSS recreation had just begun last April.
The car is a tribute to the XKSS that actor Steve McQueen owned, one of just 18 made and one of just 14 for the U.S. McQueen’s XKSS now sits in the vault at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
McQueen selected the shade of green the XKSS was painted, and also worked on the car himself. McQueen “is reported to have received so many tickets that his driver’s license was almost suspended twice during his first year of ownership,” according to the Peterson. McQueen later sold the car in the 1970s before rebuying it and owning it until his death in 1980.
Click here for more photos of the Steve McQueen tribute Jaguar XKSS.
Authors
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Erik Shilling
Erik Shilling is digital auto editor at Robb Report. Before joining the magazine, he was an editor at Jalopnik, Atlas Obscura, and the New York Post, and a staff writer at several newspapers before…