Marti, who can easily spot a fake Mustang, said his skepticism turned to elation when the car's aluminum VIN tag matched his electronic record. Ninety-eight percent of the Mustang is original, he noted. The fenders are still intact and the damage to the hood from filming was never repaired. Plus, the paint looks 50 years old, Marti said. The steering wheel McQueen gripped in the classic film, however, had been replaced by a prior owner.
But Kiernan cannot claim to be the sole owner of a "Bullitt Mustang. The movie's stunt car, which many had assumed was crushed decades ago, was still alive, though a shell of its former self.
That Mustang was shipped to California and is undergoing a major restoration so it, too, can be auctioned for a hefty sum. Kiernan said he and his family had decided it was time to give up ownership of the car after being its guardian for 45 years. We'll notify you here with news about.
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He retired from Ford at the end of Berardi was the connection with all the right connections. He immediately understood the historic significance of the Bullitt Mustang and took it upon himself to help. From October to June , Berardi doggedly rallied the support of top Ford execs while coaching Kiernan about working with a big company—how it moves in fits and starts.
That something, it was ultimately decided, would indeed revolve around the introduction of the new Bullitt special edition, which was one of several special Mustang models under development.
Ford would include the McQueen Bullitt Mustang in its Detroit auto-show launch event for the Bullitt production model. It took the first half of to set up all of this, and it had to be undertaken in complete secrecy so as not to spoil the surprise.
Connections begat connections. A value was set for the car. It jumped on the story early enough to have copies at the Detroit-show reveal. And Hagerty in turn connected Kiernan with the Historic Vehicle Association, which decided that the car was so noteworthy and well preserved that it was worth fully documenting.
The HVA is submitting the documentation to the Library of Congress, something it has done for only 20 other historically important vehicles. The HVA is also making a documentary about the car. All of this activity was taking place shrouded in secrecy, with each new connection signing nondisclosure agreements in order to be able to talk freely. None of this, however, could have unfolded without the tacit involvement of one outsider who had known that the Bullitt Mustang existed—although not its exact location—for the past 28 years.
As preparations inched forward, there were other complications that were making both Kiernan and his allies at Ford nervous. And a second green Mustang fastback used in the movie, once thought lost, had surfaced in Mexico. A stunt car used for some of the San Francisco chase scenes where it gets airborne, it too was authenticated by Kevin Marti. It had been in tatters when found but was in the process of a full restoration.
But Kiernan was worried that the Bullitt trackers were closing in and that they would discover the whereabouts of his car before it could be revealed properly at Detroit. He asked Ford for help. Ford responded. It then returned to its basement lair to wait until its dramatic appearance onstage at the Detroit auto show. Its sheetmetal dinged and dented, its Highland Green paint badly weathered, its racing alloy wheels corroded, and its upholstery split, it looked like a million bucks.
We hope it was insured for more. She had just introduced the new Bullitt. It had taken more than two years and the behind-the-scenes efforts of many, but the Bullitt Mustang had finally been given back to the world. He never asked for a penny.
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