A vintage sports car bought by Hollywood icon Steve McQueen while shooting classic cop movie Bullitt has sold for $10 million (£5.8 million), almost $2 million (£1.1 million) less than experts hoped.

The red, 1967 Ferrari 275 Gtb/4 was acquired by the actor during filming of the 1968 hit, and he owned it until 1971.

It was put on sale by staff at RM Auctions in Monterey, California over the weekend (16-17Aug14) with hopes that it could fetch as much as $12 million (£7 million), but the vehicle attracted a highest bid of just over $10 million.

It is believed the fact it was formerly owned by The Great Escape star pushed the price of the car up to more than three times its usual value.

Max Girardo, managing director of RM Auctions, says, "There's definitely a multiplier. Any car that's owned by a famous person will have an extra bit to it. When it comes to cars with celebrity provenance, it doesn't get any better than a Ferrari owned by Steve MCQueen."

The sale was held as part of Monterey Car Week.