The beautiful, shining car from the movie Bullitts sold. The vehicle which Steve McQueen rode was the splendid 1968 Ford Mustang GT. It featured in the epic race scene of the movie Bullitts. On 10th January 2020, the Mona Lisa of Mustangs sold in an auction. It cost about 3.74 million dollars.
Dana Mecum, the head of the Mecum auctions, claimed that the costliest Mustang ever auctioned. The car was sold from Dana’s auction house only. Dana was the one who named it as the Mona Lisa of Mustangs. Mr. Mecum also said that the auction price of the car was so high that it had set a record. The price was about 25% higher than the vehicle’s estimated pre-sale price.
Mona Lisa of Mustangs
The amount deeply enthralled the seller of the car Sean Kiernan. In 1974, Kiernan’s family saw an ad in the magazine. The magazine was titled Road and Track. At that time, the car cost about 3,500 dollars. Kiernan also told that the Mustang has been with their family for nearly forty-five years.
It sold twice before the auction. Both the times, the Mustang sold for about 3,500 dollars. Kiernan’s dad bought the car for 3,500 dollars. Therefore the sale began from 3,500 dollars only, and then the price hiked.
The vehicle, all original with a rusty, Highland Green fastback, banged up. It had no reserves. Any doubts about the car soon dismissed. The bidding price rapidly hiked and reached 2.5 million dollars in no time.
Then, the final bid of 3.74 million announced, and the hammer struck. The final price includes the sales commission and specific other fees. Hence the whopping amount of 3.74 million dollars.
Mona Lisa Mustang
There were three telephone bidders who wanted to be the owners of the Mona Lisa Mustang. The owner’s identification not disclosed to them as per the auction’s rules. Kiernan said he had no idea about what the new owner will use their hereditary vehicle.
He also said the auction of Mustang topped all of his expectations, felt pleased about the auction and the final sale. He very rightly said that the record-setter amount will be noted in the books and will be there for years coming.
Steve McQueen had the chance to ride the dream car in the chase sequence in Bullitts. He, along with three stunt person, drove the car on the hilly streets of San Francisco. Steve crunched the vehicle’s left fender of the front side. It occurred when he drove into a parked car during the shooting of the film.
The scars were present on the front bumper to date. Despite all the wounds and dents it bought. The buyer was Kiernan’s father, Bob. Who purchased the car at its price of 3,500 dollars. He wanted to own a fastback from 68. That was the sole reason for buying the vehicle. He dealt with the movie makers and purchased the car after the shooting ended.
Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen tried to buy back the car from Kiernan’s father in 1977. After a lot of searching, he finally tracked Kiernan and talked him into repurchasing the vehicle, but Kiernan refused. Even the star gave a personal letter to Kiernan, pleading to buy the Mustang. After that, McQueen died of cancer in 1980.
The Kiernan family used the Mustang as an all-purpose car. They used to run it for all the house errands. But, then, its clutch broke, and it stored since then.