The most famous Ford Mustang in the world is for sale

Tuesday, 17 December 2019

'I don't want to do this… twice.'

So says Sean Kiernan, owner of the 1968 Ford Mustang driven by Steve McQueen in the iconic movie Bullitt that could become the most expensive Mustang ever sold when it hits the auction block in January. Kiernan is referring to the gruelling and delicate process of selling such a well-known car, the one his dad, Robert, bought in 1974 and used as a family car until 1980. Kiernan the elder passed away in 2014; Kiernan the younger kept the car sitting in the family garage until confirming its presence publicly last year.

Famed as the hero car in arguably the greatest car chase scene in film history - Steve McQueen raced it for 10 minutes through the streets of San Francisco in the 1968 thriller - the unrestored Mustang fastback in Highland Green will go on sale at no reserve in the Mecum auction on January 10 in Kissimmee, Florida.

The move to hold a no-reserve sale is highly unusual for such a car, which is expected to take as much as US$5 million. Typically cars of that calibre are offered with a minimum amount the owner would like to receive for them, or take them back home. But the prospect of having to renegotiate everything for a second sale seemed too daunting to consider for Kiernan, whatever the price.

**READ MORE:

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* A 1945 Willys Jeep MB once owned by actor Steve McQueen could be yours

* The Ford Mustang Bullitt is our Top Coupe of 2019**

'I knew with 'no reserve' we would scare a lot of people,' Kiernan says. 'But 'all in' is what my dad would do, and we always hated watching auctions where there are reserves. The excitement is still there, but in the back of your head you're thinking you might have to do it all over again. I'm not doing this again.'

To say the last year has been hectic would be an understatement. Kiernan made 10 stops worldwide from Goodwood to San Francisco to show the V8 coupe, all the while running a horse farm in Nashville, maintaining his job at LKQ auto parts, and preparing for a new baby with his wife, Sam.

The bigger surprise to the sale is the fact that the Bullitt Mustang will be sold by Mecum at all. Where more-prestigious auction houses like RM Sotheby's, Bonhams, and Gooding & Co. could have reasonably expected to receive Kiernan's business, Mecum - known for selling high volumes of four- and five-figure cars rather than the pedigreed seven-figure lots the Bullitt Mustang will likely emulate - won the bid. It's quite the coup in the highly competitive auction industry, where houses vie to earn the most famous cars and top-price sales.

Kiernan says he considered the 'romance' of the car when considering the Mecum proposition: 'Dana Mecum was the guy my dad would sit down with at the end of the day and have a beer with - the guy bleeds red, white, and blue. I knew he would be the one to best tell the story of the car.' But he is no naif. He also attended virtually every major car auction of the past two years and 'took notes' about how they were conducted. He evaluated how many people would be in the room during the sale, who would be in the room, and even what time of day the car would hit the auction block. All are factors that can influence how well a car sells-or doesn't sell at all.

'I wanted to see how the auction houses ran the rooms, whether it was the debacle with the German Porsche or something else,' Kiernan said. 'I needed to be able to see this out my way, at the end.' (Kiernan was alluding to the Porsche Type 64 car RM Sotheby's infamously listed for US$20 million but which failed to sell after the auctioneer apparently mispronounced the starting bid. It was the biggest bungle in memorable auction history.)

Kiernan also negotiated ample freedom to run the sale how he wants. Along with his sister, Kelly, he will drive the car up on the auction block himself; he set the no-reserve terms; and he got auctioneer Matt Moravec to agree to start bidding at what will be an unusually low price. (Robert Kiernan purchased the car for US$3,500; its two previous owners, Robert Ross and Frank Marranca, each paid US$3,500 for it as well.)

The Bullitt Mustang is effectively a one-of-one example touched with the golden blessing of car culture's most important god; it has transcended into pop culture with few direct comparisons from which to predict a sale price. Which means that how much it actually sells for next month is anyone's guess. Dana Mecum has said the Bullitt Mustang will sell for at least US$3 million; a recent Hagerty magazine article said it will be at least US$4 million; Hagerty's PR boss Jonathan Klinger said he expects it could take nearer to US$5 million.

Steve McQueen-owned or -driven cars have a history of fetching more than their price premiums. A 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB by Scaglietti he owned sold for US$10.175 million in 2014. In 2015, Mecum sold McQueen's 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo for US$1.95 million. (Porsche Turbos from that era typically sell for closer to US$200,000 than US$2 million.)

As for the Mustang distinction itself, there is also a million-dollar precedent: Earlier this year, Mecum set the record for a Mustang-based car when it got US$2.2 million for a 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake. That one happened in Kissimmee - the same place Bullitt will be on January 10.

Kiernan will be happy to see it go, strange as it sounds. He's a bona fide car guy-but he's no hoarder.

'I only have a two-car garage,' he says with a laugh. 'It's not the best situation for the car. It's not the best situation for [my wife] Sam - I already dragged her down to the [horse] farm. I already drag her to the car shows. And now we've got people knocking on the door asking if they can see the collection. I'm like, 'What collection?''

Selling the Bullitt Mustang, in fact, has been 'therapeutic,' he says. Kiernan waited for years to sell it while he dealt with the grief over losing his father, whom he described as his best friend, and then waited months longer until he came to terms with the fact that the reason he kept the car was for emotional value: 'It made me feel close to my father, but what I started to figure out last year was the car controlling me.'

Now, he says, the final sale of the Bullitt Mustang will bring closure - and freedom. He's got a few other cars calling his name.

'My dad had other cars that I want to put together, cars that meant more to me, believe it or not,' Kiernan says. 'There was a 1975 Porsche 911 that sat next to it for years. That is going to be my next project.'