New York Times News Service Steve McQueen, who was 50 when he died of lung cancer in 1980, recently seemed to come back to life, appearing in computer-generated action sequences for ‘The Legend Lives’ advertising campaign for the 2005 Ford Mustang.

McQueen in the film “Le Mans.”

Steve McQueen, the actor, racecar driver and discerning collector, is having what many of his peers would consider a career year, appearing on television; in books, theaters and music videos; and in several forms of advertising. Not bad for someone who has been dead for 25 years.

McQueen, who was 50 when he died of lung cancer in 1980, recently seemed to come back to life, appearing in computer-generated action sequences for “The Legend Lives,” the advertising campaign that introduced the 2005 Ford Mustang. In a scene reminiscent of the players’ arrival in “Field of Dreams,” the baseball fantasy movie, a digital Steve McQueen emerges from a cornfield to slip behind the wheel of a new Mustang, which he pushes to its limits on a racetrack carved through the rows.

McQueen’s relationship to the Mustang was forged in “Bullitt,” the 1968 crime thriller best remembered for a heroic 9-minute, 42-second chase scene in which McQueen and villains in a Dodge Charger take turns chasing each other through the streets of San Francisco.

The McQueen persona is appearing not only in television commercials, but in cultural attractions, too. An exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, “Steve McQueen: The Legend and the Cars,” attempts to connect many of the vehicles from his screen performances with those that served his personal passion for speed. The show, which opened over the weekend, runs through Jan. 22.

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