If you are a serious petrolhead with a big bank account (and we mean BIG), then stop what you’re doing right now and immediately hop on a plane to the US, where one of the most famous movie cars ever made is coming up for auction. It is the ultimate star car and had one of the coolest men to ever walk this earth sitting behind its wheel. We are, of course, talking about the 1968 Ford Mustang GT from Bullitt. Mind you, the automobile going under the hammer at the Kissimmee 2020 event hosted by Mecum Auctions this month in Florida is not a replica, but is actually the original movie car. Needless to say, it could fetch astronomical sums once the bidding war starts.
Most cast members of Fast & Furious hadn’t even been born when Steve McQueen tore up the streets of San Francisco in a green Mustang. His 1968 cinematic action thriller is widely credited with featuring one of the best car chases ever shown on the silver screen. The 10-minute-and-53-second battle between Lt. Frank Bullitt (McQueen) in his Mustang Fastback and the bad guys in their Dodge Charger has become the stuff of legends and influenced movie car chases until today. Ford lent the movie makers two V8 Mustang GTs for filming. These had been heavily modified to cope with high-speed driving. The specific car coming up for auction is referred to as the “hero car,” meaning it was the very Mustang that McQueen (and a bunch of stuntmen) drove during the chase.
The auction site lists the car as going up without reserve, but fails to give an estimate. That’s likely because how much this machine will fetch is really anyone’s guess. The car has the honor of having been listed in the National Historic Vehicle Register of the US Library of Congress for being historically significant. If we had to guess, we’d say it would probably fetch two-digit millions, and that’s in US dollars. Our estimate is based on the fact that back in 2012, a Ford GT40 driven by McQueen in the 1971 movie Le Mans hit $11 million at auction, and the Bullitt car is no less significant.
There are also some other gems to be auctioned at the event. If you’re curious, watch the auctions as they are livestreamed online here.
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