‘BULLITT’ MUSTANG UNDER THE HAMMER
There was a time when even Steve McQueen couldn’t buy it – but now you can
Steve McQueen’s 1968 Ford Mustang GT390 Fastback – better known as the Bullitt Mustang – is to cross the block at Mecum Auctions’ Florida sale early next year.
Driven by McQueen in the renowned chase sequence for which the film is best known, the Bullitt Mustang passed through two owners before ending up in the long-term care of the Kiernan family from New Jersey. Used as a family car, it was hidden away for the best part of four decades before making a surprise appearance at the 2018 New York International Motor Show with a limited-edition Bullitt edition of the latest Ford Mustang.
Since then, the US’s National Vehicle Association has recognised the Kiernan’s Mustang – passed to son Sean by father Bob – as a vehicle of national importance.
It has appeared on track at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed and toured Ford’s head office in Dearborn, Michigan. Classic Car Weekly rode shotgun with Sean during his Goodwood display and found a car almost as Steve McQueen had left it, complete with welded camera mounts, aged paint and a customised interior. McQueen famously tried to buy ‘ his’ Mustang back from Kiernan senior in the Seventies, though correspondence kept by the family shows that Bob’s answer was ‘no’.
Very little has changed on the Mustang since it was used as a ‘first unit’ car intended for McQueen to drive; a second car, bought by Bullitt’s production company, Solar Productions, allegedly resurfaced in a Mexico scrapyard in a far poorer state. The Kiernan family changed only what they needed over the years; father-and-son team Bob and Sean refreshed the engine, fitted new carpet and replaced the front bumper.
Bill Shepherd Mustang’s general manager, Billy Hines, said: ‘It’s better left how it is.
‘That’s what Steve McQueen touched; you couldn’t restore it, that’s what makes it so valuable.’ Bill Shepherd Mustang has been selling a range of ‘New Classic’ tribute Bullitt Mustangs since 2016, rebuilt to ‘restomod’ standard. Billy struggled to put a figure on what the real deal might fetch. He said: ‘An “Eleanor” Mustang GT500 used in [the Nicholas Cage remake of ] Gone In 60 Seconds fetched over a million dollars to our knowledge; to me, the Bullitt Mustang is way more iconic and will appeal to a far greater audience. People from all walks of life want Mustangs, and Steve McQueen’s must be the most valuable of them all. I’d say at least a couple of million dollars but I wouldn’t be shocked if it managed five million.’ ❚ mecum.com ❚ billshepherdmustang.com