Blast from the past: original Bullitt Mustang debuts at Goodwood

Friday, 6 July 2018

The iconic green Ford Mustang driven by the even more iconic Steve McQueen in the legendary movie Bullitt is set to make its first ever appearance outside the United States when it puts in an appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed alongside its modern namesake.

The Mustang GT Fastback shot to fame in 1968 with Steve McQueen behind the wheel in the famous Bullitt car chase scene around the streets of San Francisco.

Two cars were used in the production of the movie – a stunt car (serial number '558) and the hero car (serial number '559) which was driven by McQueen himself. Both were sold after filming wrapped and went unheard of for decades.

The '68 Mustang GT used in Bullitt will make its first appearance outside the USA next month at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

While the stunt car was uncovered in Mexico a while back, the hero car was thought to be lost forever. Except it wasn't.

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Sean Kiernan now owns the 1968 Bullitt Mustang after his father bought it to be his mother's daily driver in 1974.

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More than 50 years apart, but both seriously cool. Although the original is much, much cooler.

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Ford launched the Mustang Bullitt to celebrate 50 years of the iconic movie. It will be available here later this year.

The original McQueen-driven hero from Bullitt was thought to be long gone. But it made a comeback earlier this year.

Robert Kiernan bought the car for US$6,000 in 1974 (US$30,000 in 2018, or around NZ$44,000) from an advertisement in Road & Track magazine. His wife used the car for some time as her daily driver and, apparently, during that time Steve McQueen managed to track down the car and contacted the Kiernans, pleading with them to sell it to him. But they wouldn't.

After attracting some unwanted attention in the 1980s (someone broke into the barn it was stored in and stole some parts as souvenirs), the family hid it away in a secret location, keeping their ownership of it a secret for more than 30 years.

That was until Kiernan's son, Sean, bought the mustang out of its family-imposed exile for the Detroit motor show earlier this year, before taking it on a tour of the USA.

Now, for the first time, it is hitting European shores when it stars alongside Ford's latest limited edition of the 2018 Mustang.

Also revealed at this year's Detroit Motor Show to mark the 50th anniversary of the movie, the Mustang Bullitt packs 338kW/529Nm 5.0-litre V8 and will be available in New Zealand later this year with a manual transmission only.

The Duke of Richmond and Gordon, founder of Goodwood Festival of Speed, said: 'We're delighted to announce that these two incredible cars are making their Goodwood Festival of Speed debut and driving up the hill in front of fans.

'Bullitt is one of the greatest celebrations of high-speed motoring in cinema history making the Festival a perfect home for the pair of Mustangs. To have the original icon joined by its modern day successor exactly 50 years later is a fantastic way to mark our own special anniversary.'