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HomeMedia'Bullitt' Mustang GT movie car to be auctioned by Mecum at Florida...

‘Bullitt’ Mustang GT movie car to be auctioned by Mecum at Florida sale

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Dana Mecum, founder and president of Mecum Auctions, dropped a bombshell Wednesday in Monterey, revealing to a media gathering that one of the world’s most famous cars, the 1968 Ford Mustang GT fastback driven by Steve McQueen in the movie Bullitt, would cross the block during the auction company’s January sale in Kissimmee, Florida.

Mecum made the announcement after teasing the media with his invitation to the press conference, keeping the car a secret other than calling it “one of the most highly sought-after automobiles of all-time” and a “widely and publicly exalted vehicle of unparalleled pop-culture and historic significance.”

Dana Mecum revealed the Mustang the day before the start of the company’s Monterey auction, held August 15-17.

The Mustang GT movie car made a surprise entrance | Rebecca Nguyen photos
Dana Mecum (right) introduced the Mustang to the media

The Highland Green Bullitt Mustang is certainly a cultural icon after rampaging through the streets of San Francisco in the iconic chase sequence, which influenced decades of movies chases to come.

The car was believed to have been lost or destroyed for more than 40 years until early last year when it was revealed that a family had it in their possession in secret storage.

Two identical Mustangs were used in the filming of Bullitt, the “hero” car for the close-up scenes and the “jump” car for the action sequences.   This Mustang was the hero car, which avoided getting battered (too much) during the making of the film.  The jump car was unearthed last year in Mexico in derelict condition.

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Sean Kiernan, whose late father owned the Mustang, told his family’s story with the car

The Bullitt Mustang has been consigned to the Kissimmee auction, Mecum’s largest of the year, by Sean Kiernan, the son of the man who bought the second-hand movie car in 1974.  The car was used by his mother, a third-grade teacher, as a daily driver for years until it was put away for safe keeping, said Kiernan, who joined Mecum in making the announcement.

During more than 40 years of ownership, his dad, Robert Kiernan, kept the identity of the Mustang under wraps; its continuing existence was unknown until it was unveiled by Ford at the January 2018 Detroit auto show.

“He told us that the car was special, but not how special,” Kiernan said.  “I had been walking past it for 45 years.”

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The Mustang appears as it did after the movie was completed

While the Mustang was technically the hero car, it was used extensively while filming action scenes after the jump car became too damaged, Kiernan added.  “It was in 90 percent of the chase.”

The car, with Sean Kiernan always close at hand, has been shown since its reveal at many prestigious events, even appearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., to be installed into the national registry of historic vehicles.

Ever the showman, Mecum pulled a “magic trick” on the journalists and visitors at the media event. He started off speaking before a huge enclosure covered by black cloth, in which it had been presumed that the mystery car was standing.

But when the cloth was pulled back, the glass case was empty, and Mecum feigned shock and surprise.  Moments later, the Mustang rumbled forth from another area, driven by Kiernan, toward the awe-struck group.

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Steve McQueen drove the Mustang during filming

The GT fastback remains cosmetically in original condition, showing the scrapes, blemishes and minor dents from its time as a movie car and his mom’s driver, Kiernan noted. He said he hopes that whomever gets the car will keep it as is, respecting it as a historic artifact.

“Every nick and dent tells a story,” he said.

Mecum expects the Bullitt Mustang to be the highest-priced muscle car ever sold at auction when it goes on the block in Florida, noting that the car will be sold at no reserve.  “The America market will decide what it’s worth.”

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The Mustang wears the scrapes and blemishes of a storied life

He also contends that the Mustang has transcended being a mere automobile.

“It’s not a car anymore; it’s a piece of art,” Mecum said.  “To my knowledge, this will be the first muscle car sold as a piece of art.”

Mecum’s Kissimmee, Florida, auction will take place January 2-12 with 4,000 vehicles expected to cross the block.  For more information, visit the auction website.

 

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Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen is a longtime automotive writer and editor, focusing on new vehicles, collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. He is the former automotive writer and editor for The Arizona Republic and SPEED.com, the website for the SPEED motorsports channel. He has written free-lance articles for a number of publications, including Autoweek, The New York Times and Barrett-Jackson auction catalogs. A collector car enthusiast with a wide range of knowledge about the old cars that we all love and desire, Bob enjoys tinkering with archaic machinery. His current obsession is a 1962 Porsche 356 Super coupe.

5 COMMENTS

  1. Just watching and listening to Mecum milking everything they possibly can out of this with be laughable as usual. Then as the camera focuses in on the idiot multi-millionaire with the smirk on his face as he realizes he WAY over paid for a movie car that he’ll tuck away for only him to see. Ah. yes the everyman hobby ……….

  2. I can just see Steve McQueen laughing his head off at all the hype and over-the-top adulation of the detritus of his life being so "valuable". What a travesty.

  3. Wow….what a great story of patience. Senior kept its identity hidden from his own family. A brilliant move….to me this was his version of buying 1000 shares of Apple stock in 1980 and leaving it to his children…..without saying a word. It’s a story for the ages. To the negative commentors….."jealous much?"… FANTASTIC….may it break every record and be a centerpiece of someone’s passion…. FORD MOTOR COMPANY BUY THIS AND DISPLAY THIS FOR ALL TO SEE!

    • Unfortunately, our hobby has not been "the everyman" hobby since it was turned into a business (or investment, on which everyone expects a return) by many participants and as a result, prices have climbed beyond the reach of "the everyman". I have heard many people complain about car prices in our hobby (as have I) but at the end of the exercise when people are selling their car and someone asks, "how much do you want for it" the unspoken answer usually is, "As much as I can get". That said, there is a certain type of honesty to the sale of a car at auction without reserve and I believe that most "hobbyists" would not consign their car without a backstop. At the auction, someone will tell us what it’s worth to him or her – that does not mean that it is worth the same amount to anyone/everyone else. I agree that the best outcome would be if Ford bought the car and displayed it at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn and/or toured the car at various displays throughout the world but I suspect that if they could have bought it – at what they felt was a reasonable price – they would already have done so (they have been involved with the car already since it was revealed). Something tells me that one reason it is being sold now has to do with the plateau/erosion in collector car prices which has become evident since Monterey – it’s always hard to tell when a market has peaked (usually, we know it was yesterday because prices are lower today) but maybe Ford will take a run at it during the auction. I hope so.

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