Sold faster than a speeding Bullitt

Bullitt Mustang at auction

Sold for $3.7 million at the Mecum auction in Florida

The celebrated Highland Green Mustang driven by Steve McQueen in the movie Bullitt was always going to sell well, so the fact that it set a new record for any Mustang is perhaps not surprising.

The sale price of $3.7 million (including fees) at the Mecum auction in Florida in January beat the $2.2 million paid last year for a 1967 Shelby GT500 ‘Super Snake’.

American actor Steve McQueen (1930 - 1980) as Frank Bullit next to a Ford Mustang 390 GT 2+2 Fastback in the american crime thriller movie 'Bullitt', San Francisco, 1968

Steve McQueen made the car famous with his San Francisco car chase

Getty

The car had been in the family of Sean Kiernan for 40 years having been bought by his father Robert for $3500 in response to a classified advertisement in Road & Track. It was used as a daily drive for many years, before being put in storage. Three telephone bidders battled for the car, with the winning bidder opting to remain anonymous.

“When the auctioneer asked, ‘Who will give me $3500?’, everybody in the room raised their hand. Everybody had a chance to bid on the car,” said Kiernan. “That’s what I’ll always remember.”