McQueen’s Bullitt headed to auction

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/08/2019 (2557 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you’re in the market for a very famous Ford Mustang with ties to Hollywood legend Steve McQueen, start getting your ducks in a row. And you better have a whole lot of ducks.

One of two Highland Green 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastbacks used in the 1968 action thriller Bullitt is set to be auctioned off in Florida in January.

Sean Kiernan, the car’s current owner, announced last week on Instagram that it was headed to the auction block.

While attending the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 2018, I had the opportunity to get an up-close look at the car.

When it wheeled up onto the stage in Detroit during the unveiling of the 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt edition, with Steve’s granddaughter Molly McQueen behind the wheel, the paint was faded, the tires looked a little thin and the exhaust smelled like it was running rich — all of which added to the mystique surrounding this magical Mustang.

When the smoke cleared and the crowd dispersed, I spent a solid hour looking at and photographing it from every angle, knowing this was likely the coolest car I’d ever have the opportunity to lay eyes on in person.

According to Road & Track magazine, the car was modified extensively for the movie, with a heavy-duty suspension, engine upgrades and mounting points for cameras installed. When filming was complete, Warner Brothers fixed the car and sold it to a police detective living on the East Coast. That detective listed it in the October 1974 Road & Track classifieds (as the “Bullett” Mustang, driven by Steve McQueen), and a very wise man named Robert Kiernan bought it for US$6,000.

Then, he (gasp) drove it for a few years as a family car.

McQueen tried to buy the car from Kiernan in 1977, but he refused, and kept it until his death in 2014, when it was passed on to his son, Sean.

For years, it was thought to be the only remaining car from the film. But a second Bullitt Mustang, (used in the movie as a stunt car), surfaced in 2017. American bodyshop owners Ralph Garcia and Hugo Sanchez found it in a Mexican junkyard and its authenticity was eventually verified. That car had been stripped of most of its original parts, though, and was in very rough shape. It is apparently now being restored back to exactly how it would have looked in the film.

Although the restored car will be neat to see, cars are only original once, and the Bullitt car being offered for sale in January is the real deal — a true survivor.

It looks as if McQueen dropped it off in an airport parkade after that killer car chase and simply walked away.

Auction company Mecum has been commissioned to sell the car, and it will hit the auction block in Kissimmee, Fla., in January.

With the popularity of the new 2019 Mustang Bullitt edition at its peak, the timing is right for the Kiernan family to finally sell the car, and while they will surely miss it, they likely won’t regret the sale. Early predictions suggest the car could sell for more than US$5 million.

 

willy@freepress.mb.ca