At their Collector Car Auction in Kissimmee, Florida, Mecum Auctions made headlines for the most expensive Ford Mustang ever sold at auction. Receiving a handsome $3.4 million before hammer fees, the car eclipsed the previous record of $2.2 million. What makes this admittedly weathered Mustang so special? It starred alongside actor Steve McQueen in the 1968 action film Bullitt.
The 1968 Mustang GT famously appeared onscreen, driven by actor McQueen himself as well as professional stuntmen. The car features in the iconic chase scene through the streets of San Francisco, which is widely regarded as the best chase scene in film history. It has inspired many other similar scenes in action movies since, with interior camera angles that place the viewer at the heart of the action instead of simply showing the car from the outside.
This was no simple stock Mustang, either. The car was modified heavily for the movie, and, according to the auction house, McQueen viewed it as a character in its own right. The emblems and back up lights were removed, and the tyres were replaced with grey wheels to give the car a tougher appearance to match the character of its driver. The ‘68 was also fitted with heavy-duty suspension to handle jumps, the engine was specially modified, and mounting points for cameras were added to the interior.
After Bullitt, the car was acquired by the parents of the now-former owner Sean Kiernan for a mere $3,500 in 1974. In 1977 McQueen famously tried to buy the car back from the Kiernans, but was refused. Instead, in a decision that may pain auto enthusiasts everywhere, the family used the vehicle as their daily driving car. It racked up around 46,000 miles over several years, until it was parked in 1981 and remained out of the public eye.
For decades the car was missing, and many people assumed that it was lost. In actual fact, the Kiernans had it in their garage as a sort of ‘project car’. After Sean Kiernan’s father passed away in 2014, Sean decided to authenticate and sell the vehicle, pairing with Ford so that the car could resurface in time for Bullitt’s 50th anniversary. This same year Ford released a new version of the ‘Bullitt’ Mustang, and they displayed the original ‘68 GT fastback during the unveiling of the new model.
With its $3.74 million price tag, the Bullitt Mustang raced past the previous record for a Ford Mustang at auction, which was held by a 1967 Shelby GT500 ‘Super Snake’, which sold for $2.2 million in early 2019. The car also became one of the most expensive muscle cars ever sold at auction, coming in second to a 1971 Plymouth Hemi Barracuda convertible that sold for $3.78 million with hammer fees in 2014.
See also: Ten Most Expensive Classic Cars Ever Sold at Auction
The car’s unique backstory undoubtedly boosted its selling price. According to the Hagerty Price Guide, a 1968 Ford Mustang GT in good condition would be worth an estimated $70,000, far less than what the ‘Bullitt’ Mustang went for. By virtue of appearing in such an iconic movie, the car’s perceived value increased and the price was driven up. Steve McQueen’s individual celebrity surely contributed as well – he was a car fanatic himself, and his passion, roles and skilled driving manoeuvres have won him a place in the hearts of generations of auto enthusiasts.
This wasn’t the first of McQueen’s film cars to perform incredibly well at auction, or even the first from Bullitt. In 2014, the 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 that featured in Bullitt sold for over $10 million, three times the usual value of that model. The so-called ‘Steve McQueen effect’ skyrockets the price of any cars owned or driven by the actor to several times their ordinary worth, and many of his vehicles have achieved similarly eye-popping prices at auction.
The new owner of the ‘Bullitt’ Mustang so far remains a mystery, and many fans are wondering how the classic car will be treated. It has remained mostly untouched since its days on the silver screen – the scratches from where McQueen plowed into a parked car during the chase scene are still visible on the fender – and the decision whether to fully restore it or leave some of the ‘character’ intact is divisive. From starring in a film to being garaged to shattering auction records, the Mustang has had one wild ride. Whatever happens next, one thing is certain: the ‘Bullitt’ will never be forgotten again.
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Article by Madeleine Whalen