Equipment
390/325hp, 4-barrel, 4-speed, Torque Thrust wheels, Traction-Masters, movie camera mounts.
Condition
The Steve McQueen driven "hero car" from the movie "Bullitt". Three owners from Warner Bros., with the Kiernan family since 1974. Documented with letters from Warner Bros. and Steve McQueen when he tried to buy it. National Historic Vehicle Register listed. Dull, buffed through and scratched original paint. Both rear fenders are rusted through. Pitted chrome, rusted rear bumper. Dull 5-spoke Torque Thrust wheels with new valve stems. Old Firestone tires. Good front bumper, new headlights. Pulled driver''s seat seams. Max Balchowsky prepared for the movie, now mechanically rebuilt and runs and drives well.
Market commentary
It''s a challenge to put this car in perspective. First, it is likely than anyone who likes cars has seen "Bullitt", probably several times and since the age of the VCR has rewound multiple times through the chase scene. It is the prototype for movie chases and, even like this year''s "Ford v Ferrari", has countless upshifts even if there were only four gears in the box. Its history of everyday use with the Kiernan family, rejection of Steve McQueen''s offer to buy it and ultimate seclusion in unrestored if New Jersey rusted condition is the stuff of a legend. Finally, its emergence, sympathetic mechanical restoration and reveal along with a new Bullitt-liveried Ford Mustang has been carefully staged and managed. It was the car of the week in Kissimmee. It may be the car of the year, combining preservation, halo image and instant recognition in one defining moment when it came onto the Kissimmee auction block completely surrounded by admirers, cameras and a few carefully vetted bidders speaking through cell phones to straw people. The price and attention it brought is a singular event, rarely if ever to be repeated. Those who know where it went are mum on the subject, but it''ll show up soon. It''s too great a story to hide, unless some Philistine decides to restore it in which case its history will be shrouded in new panels and Bondo, its McQueen-shaped seats reupholstered to their 1968 appearance and its remarkable story forever subsumed by glitz and glimmer. If it is restored don''t go see it. Instead go back to a VCR, DVD or digital download and relive the "Bullitt" chase scene while remembering Max Balchowsky, creator of the "Old Yaller" road racing specials, whose preparation skills made the performances of Steve McQueen and stunt drivers Carey Loftin, Bud Ekins and Loren James possible. No race scene in "Ford v Ferrari" comes close to being as exciting as "Bullitt", nor to the "Bullitt" Mustang''s auction at Kissimmee.