The Ford Mustang GT from Bullitt (1968) will be auctioned this month

Mónica Redondo @MonicaRedondoD 6 January 2020 4 min.

The Ford Mustang GT from Bullitt (1968) will be auctioned this month

The Ford Mustang GT from Bullitt will be auctioned in a few days, although some experts value it at around 4 million euros. Will it manage to sell?

Mecum is preparing to auction the Ford Mustang GT from Bullitt of 1968 on the 10th of January, and to increase publicity, the company has released new details about the iconic model from the legendary film.

The story begins in 1968 when the Ford Mustang was driven through San Francisco by Steve McQueen during filming. While the car certainly looked great, it is best remembered for what is often considered the “first modern car chase”.

Although two Mustangs were used in the 10-minute chase, this is the so-called “Hero Car” and was used for most of the filming. Mecum says McQueen considered the Mustang a character rather than a prop, so he modified it. The changes included a blacked-out grille, grey Torq Thrust wheels and a “scuffed” paint finish for a more “authentic and road-tested” look. The badges and tail lights were also removed, while the engine was modified to be stronger and offer more power.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAQFiwQhArk&feature=emb_logo

Would you buy the legendary Ford Mustang from Bullitt?

The changes did not stop there, as the vehicle was modified to accommodate cameras for the iconic chase scene. As part of this process, “three metal tubes were welded underneath the rocker panels, perpendicular to the car’s centreline for the camera mounts, and holes were cut into the boot to allow cables to run from the generator to the cameras and lights”.

After the film’s release, the employee Robert Warros Bros bought the car, using it to commute to and from work. Shortly afterwards, Ross sold it to New Jersey detective Frank Marranca, who received confirmation from Ford that this particular Mustang had been bought by McQueen’s Solar Productions for Bullitt.

Marranca held on to the car for about four years, but decided to sell it in 1974. He opted for a short advert in the October edition of Road & Track that read “1968 ‘Bullett’ MUSTANG driven by McQueen in the film … Can be documented. Best offer.”

Robert Kiernan saw the advert and bought the car for around 6,000 euros. It was a once-in-a-lifetime bargain, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ inflation calculator says that is the equivalent of 30,200 euros in today’s money. To put this in perspective, the Ford Mustang Bullitt 2020 starts at around 50,000 euros.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ4dxncpugs&feature=emb_logo

Kiernan’s wife used the Mustang as her daily car for several years and, reportedly, McQueen “made numerous attempts to recover Robert’s vehicle, even offering to help him find a similar Mustang”. Robert rejected McQueen’s requests and the actor died in 1980 at the age of 50.

At roughly the same time, the Mustang’s clutch failed at 104,607 km on the odometer. Rather than fix it, Kiernan decided to store the car in a garage. The car was moved with the family several times over the following decades, but largely remained intact.

Following the launch of the Ford Mustang GT Bullitt 2001, Kiernan and his son, Sean, decided to drive the car again. Unfortunately, fate intervened when Robert was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and the car was put on hold. Ford released another Bullitt edition in 2008 and, as before, this led the family to refocus on the car. However, Robert’s condition worsened and he died in 2014.

The legendary sports car was left to Sean, who got the road-worthy model ready in time for its debut alongside the Mustang Bullitt 2019 at the North American International Auto Show.

The car is now being auctioned with no reserve. Although it obviously shows signs of wear, Kiernan wanted to keep the car as original as possible. As a result, there are only a handful of upgrades, including a rebuilt 6.4-litre V8 engine featuring “as many original parts as Sean and his father could use”.