HomeMediaBullitt hammers for $3.4MM at Mecum Kissimmee -- A new record!

Bullitt hammers for $3.4MM at Mecum Kissimmee — A new record!

At the end of the bidding the hammer price of $3.4 Million not only broke records, but wowed the collectors and the audience alike.

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Everyone said it would set the new record for Mustangs and possibly muscle cars alike. The Steve McQueen Bullitt Mustang GT certainly raised the bar for Mustangs. At the end of the bidding the hammer price of $3.4 Million not only broke records, but wowed the throngs of spectators that crowded the Osceola Heritage Park Hall in Kissimmee, Florida. There’s been a lot of speculation. Now we know.

The pricey 1968 Highland Green GT was walked in like a prizefighter. Known as the the “hero” car used in filming. It was used for closeups and driving scenes, while an identical Mustang was setup as a stunt car. That stunt car was essentially wrecked from an arduous schedule of “gags” on set.

The Ford Mustang driven by Steve McQueen in Bullitt has inspired countless tributes. | Warner Brothers Screenshot
The Ford Mustang driven by Steve McQueen in Bullitt has inspired countless tributes. | Warner Brothers Screenshot

When Ford unveiled the new 2019 Mustang Bullitt model during a press preview before the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January 2018, they also unveiled the actual Bullitt Mustang in its original survivor petina.

Robert Kiernan had bought it as simply a used car in 1974. He knew of the car’s provenance, but the collector car market was different then and this car was not any more valuable than any other Mustang at the time. The car has been in the possession of the family since.
The car was driven for years by Robert’s wife, Robbie, as her daily to her job as a schoolteacher.

The first-ever Shelby Cobra still holds the muscle record of $13.75 Million, sold by RM Sothebys at Monterey 2016.

Tom Stahler
Tom Stahler
Tom Stahler is the Managing Editor of the ClassicCars.com Journal. Tom has a lifelong love of cars and motor racing – beginning with the 1968 USRRC race at Road America, in a stroller, at eight months of age. His words, photos and broadcasts can can be found on a myriad of media. He has won the Motor Press Guild’s Dean Batchelor Award and a Gold Medal in the International Automotive Media Awards.

20 COMMENTS

  1. I was waiting and watching for this. Very cool. I have been a fan of this car ever since I was a kid as I saw the Movie on the big srceen when it came out!

    The Bullitt Mustang is almost a Mustang that appreciated the most in value by percentage.

    That honor goes to a $4.00 1960’s HO scale Aurora Competition Pack Candy Blue Fastback Mustang slot car which sold on eBay for over $3000.00!

  2. Check that ..
    My estimates are rounded in the wrong directions and the two are close.
    Slot car was more like $3.50 new
    And sold for $3,200.00
    Bullitt cost maybe $6,000.00 new for the movie?-
    And sold for $3,400.00

    • I saw the Bullitt Mustang up close when it was nearby on travel for display last year.
      The cool part is in the movie you can see that same square tubing under the rocker panels, in the same three places, on both sides of the car. (Camera mounts)
      I have an old Ford/Mustang magazine that covered lots of cool Bullitt movie trivia.
      My favorite is still that the driver of the Black Charger (Bill Hickman?) was cast as the villain, the part didn’t really have any lines, Hickman was a professional Stunt Driver and actually drove the Charger!
      Steve McQueen didn’t quite do all of his own driving. He wanted to, and there is that scene when he burns rubber in reverse, which they left in the film, but that was also when they let his stunt driver double take over; McQueen was supposed to make that turn!

      • Not so sure about Steve using a stunt double. I’ve seen it written and video where Steve & Hickman were more than friends and the weeks of planning and actual track testing in both the Mustang, and the Charger. Some of the driving did not go as planned. Most fans know that right turn fail, prompted the single wheel spinning reverse although it was practiced several times. The Charger skid into a ’56 Chevy was also not planned.

  3. Congratulations to the new owner. But he/she overpaid. Lets not forget there’s a second Bullitt , the one actually used in the driving scenes, that is still out there. It was found in Mexico and is currently in California undergoing a specifically documented restoration. When it comes up for sale, there will then be 2 Bullitt Mustangs. And that is a big deal. The best example I can give is the famous Honus Wagner baseball card. For many years there was only One card known to exist and its value was very high. Then a few more were discovered, and the values dropped considerably. Personally, I don’t believe any of this will matter to the new owner. Anyone who can afford to drop $3 million on a mustang will never be worrying about their next meal.

  4. Does the $3.4 million include Mecum’s buyer’s commission 10% these days I think and maybe sales tax if not a dealer ?

  5. I read that Steve McQueen and Bill Hickman arrived in San Francisco four weeks before shooting just to practice driving together and to work out the shots. Peter Yates (Director) said in an interview that they only had one day to shoot the infamous chase scene. That’s why you see the same green VW and blue 68 GTO coming down the hill in three different shots. He didn’t have any time to shoot additional footage to use for cutting pieces.

    • I have been to San Francisco a couple times recently and when I was there I looked at many streets wondering which were included in the movie. I day dreamed of a tourist idea: Learning of all the landmarks and streets from Bullitt that can be included in a tour; then build a stretch Highland Green 68 Fastback- “The Bullitt Tour” lol

  6. I drove the whole chase route back in ’90, in a rental Corsica, nowhere close to a Stang. The route could not be driven as the original chase due to some streets were changed & closed. Then, Lombard St. was one-way down. It still was way much fun.

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