Legendary Steve McQueen Ford Mustang GT From Bullitt Discovered In Mexico
24th Mar, 2017
You may remember our article a few months ago on famous scrap cars from cinema history. In it, we talked about the Ford Mustang GT models from Bullitt – or in other words, the four-wheeled star of one of the most renowned chase scenes in cinema history. There were actually two cars that played the role; while one remains in a private collection, the other went missing shortly after the film wrapped. This year, the mystery of its whereabouts was finally solved.
A Gem Of Filmmaking History
It’s a scene still cherished by car buffs all over the world – the sight of Frank Bullitt (McQueen) burning rubber in his Ford Mustang GT, in hot pursuit of a hitman driving a Dodge Charger. As well as the thrill of the chase itself, the scene is famous for its continuity errors, including quite a few hubcaps flying all over the road. Once filming was wrapped though, one of the GTs used for the film entered a private collection – where it remains to this day – whereas the other was deemed beyond repair, and went missing in a matter of weeks. McQueen himself tried in vain to track down the car for years. Sadly, he never succeeded before he died of cancer in 1980. For nearly half a century, nobody had any idea of the whereabouts of this famous scrap car, and many assumed it lost to time.
So imagine the surprise when it popped up on top of a scrapheap in the Mexican state of Baja, California. It was uncovered by Hugo Sanchez, a novice collector. He sent the car on to Ralph Garcia Junior, a body shop owner who makes his living restoring cars to look like the Eleanor Shelby GT500 (from the much more contemporary film Gone In 60 Seconds). The pair had exactly this aim in mind, in fact, when Sanchez double checked the car’s Vehicle Identification Number and discovered its awe-inspiring heritage.
What’s The Condition Of Bullit’s Scrap Car Now?
To be honest, pretty good, as a matter of fact. It had several more layers of paint on top of the Highland Green it proudly wore in the film, and it was coloured in a stark white when it was discovered. Some of the original modifications from the movie are apparently still attached, with only the rear axle having been replaced at some point in the past few decades. Garcia and Sanchez aren’t even planning to sell it on, instead preferring to undertake the task of restoring it themselves – with some help from the original manufacturers at Ford, of course. Current conservative estimates put the car’s value at about $1million, so we imagine there are lots of vintage car collectors keen to hear how the project goes!
At Scrap Car Network, we’re reasonably certain that we’re not harbouring any borderline-mythical movie artefacts amongst the mountains of scrap at our Authorised Treatment Facilities. We’re keeping a beady eye out though, just to be on the safe side. In the meantime, we’re focusing on our primary mission: to give you the best price and the best service when you scrap your car with us.
All you have to do is visit our homepage to enter your car reg and postcode, and within moments you’ll be looking at an instant scrap car quote. Yes, it’s really that easy! Why not get cracking today?
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