- Purchased by Steve McQueen in 1969 as one of four support vehicles for the Baja 1000.
- McQueen’s race team added improved front and rear differentials.
- Now for sale, this two-owner vehicle will cross the auction block at Mecum’s Indy sale on May 17.
Among American enthusiasts, few celebrities are as legendary and looked up to as Steve McQueen. An actor by weekday and racer by weekend, his love of motorsport is well documented, and now you can own a part of it with this 1970 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
Purchased by McQueen through his company, Solar Productions, the SUV was not only owned by him, it was tuned for him, too. Specifically, it is believed to have been modified to help him compete in the 1970 Baja 1000.
Read: This Ratty 1979 Trans Am Was Blown Up In Steve McQueen’s Final Movie
While that’s undeniably cool, it must be noted that it wasn’t used as a race vehicle. Instead, it was one of four Chevys that McQueen bought and used as support vehicles for the race, including another Blazer and a pair of four-wheel-drive pickups.
Despite not being used as a competition vehicle, it still needed to be able to handle the deserts of the Baja peninsula. That means that this SUV got Positraction differentials and the front and rear, and the four-headlight grille from a Jimmy for better illumination off-road.
Unfortunately for McQueen, the race ended in a DNF, and this was among the vehicles liquidated soon thereafter. The buyer, Bob Bianchi, picked the K5 Blazer up in 1971 after responding to an ad in the Penny Saver newspaper, offering the Blazer to the first person to show up with $1,800 — the equivalent of nearly $14,000 today, when accounting for inflation.
He happily used it for a 13,000-mile (20,921 km) road trip in 1972, and then as a family car until 2001. After that, it was taken to Big Bear, California, where it was used sparingly on the weekends.
It appears that Bianchi didn’t know that the K5 Blazer was associated with Steve McQueen until, many years into his ownership, he did some research and discovered the connection. As part of the auction sale, the original bill of sale listing McQueen and Solar Production will be included, so its next buyer is in no doubt about its provenance.
Today, the Blazer has 81,235 miles (130,735 km) on the odometer. Power comes from a 350 cubic-inch V8 attached to a TH350 automatic transmission, and there’s factory air conditioning. Despite the mileage, the Blazer presents well in Citrus Green paint.
Set to cross the auction block at Mecum’s Indy 2024 sale, on May 17, it will be interesting to see how much buyers are willing to pay for a taste of Steve McQueen history.
