Things Everyone Never Knew About About Steve Mcqueen’S Mustang From Bullitt.

Bullitt is a gritty, noir crime-detective film starring Steve McQueen, released by Warner Bros. in 1968.
His 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback, one of the most legendary cars ever to grace the silver screen.

10: There Were Two Mustangs Used For Filming

Two 1968 Mustang GT fastbacks were actually made to feature in the film. One is designated the “hero” car, which Steve McQueen regularly drives around the streets, while the other car, the “jump” car, was the stunt car used for jumps and tight turns and speeding. Both cars had 390-cubic-inch, modified engines.

The “jump” car was actually badly damaged by the time shooting ended, due to stunt crashes and such, and it was later thought to be destroyed.

9: Where The “Jump” Car Was Found

The stunt-car twin of the famous Highland Green 1968 Mustang GT, called the “jump” car, was miraculously found in Mexico in March 2017.

It was found by body shop owner Ralph Garcia and his partner Hugo Sanchez, in a junkyard. And it was verified with having the VIN of the second “jump” Mustang: 125558. The car had been stripped of its parts, and extensive restoration work was done to it.

It was estimated to be worth $3 to $5 million. Marti was against the restoration, saying that an unrestored car—even a shell like the ’68 Bullitt Mustang—would be worth more.

8: When The “Hero” Car Was Found

In a crazy coincidence, the primary “hero” Mustang, called Bullitt 559, was found in a garage in New Jersey.
In 1994, Bob Kiernan, who was into horses, bought a farm in Kentucky called Wicklow Hill.

The Mustang moved to that barn, into a two-car garage at the end of the property. It passed to Bob’s son, Sean, who left it in that Kentucky barn until it was found in 2017.

7: When Steve McQueen Tried To Buy The Car Back

By 1977, Steve McQueen had already made a few attempts at buying the car back from Kiernan, but had failed. Then he sent a letter, and The date read December 14, 1977, and the letter said, “Again, I would like to appeal to you to get back my ‘‘8 Mustang. I would like very much to keep it in the family in its original condition as it was used in the film, rather than have it restored;

which is simply personal with me. I would be happy to try to find you another Mustang similar to the one you have, if there is not too much monies involved in it. Otherwise, we had better forget it.” And Kiernan did “forget it,” as McQueen never got his car back.

6: Restoration

After Bob Kiernan passed away in 2014, as a means of honoring his legacy, Sean Kiernan decided to use the film’s 50th anniversary this year as an incentive to get it roadworthy again.

To the delight of preservationists, Kiernan has maintained the car’s originality and patina, opting to repair only the mechanical systems.
The car then shared the stage at the unveiling of the new 2018 Ford Mustang Bullitt Edition.

5: The Car Was Pared Down For Filming

In order to give the Mustang a stealthy appearance in the film, Hollywood pared down the original 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 for filming.

They removed the driving lights, the running pony grille emblem, the Mustang lettering, and even the GT badges.

4: Appeasing The San Francisco Authorities

Steve McQueen and his stunt drivers had to buckle up before racing the Mustang (and they probably would have even if they weren’t forced to). Concerned residents along the film route reportedly called the San Francisco Police Department and City Hall during the filming of the legendary jump sequence, and when the cars came racing by at 110 mph during the chase scene.

Some people believe the San Francisco authorities were led to believe the cars wouldn’t exceed speeds of 35 mph, but boy, were they mistaken. We’re thankful the residents’ cries went unheeded, or else the iconic chase that the producers and McQueen spent so much time putting together might have never been possible!

3: Editing The Chase Scene

The chase scene in Bullitt, arguably the greatest chase scene ever put to film, reportedly took over four weeks to film, resulting in 9 minutes and 42 seconds of edited footage.

Audiences see a green VW, a yellow cab, and a white Firebird multiple times in the movie, and the Dodge Charger driven by the villain loses eight hubcaps during the chase! Those continuity lapses can be overlooked, however, because the end result of the chase was so spectacular.

2: Info About The New 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt Edition

The dark Highland Green ’68 Ford Mustang GT Fastback that McQueen drove was honored by Ford Motor Co. in 2001, 2008, and 2018. The third-generation of Bullitt Mustangs is a more powerful, faster version of the ’68 version, of course, and it’s also more powerful than standard Mustang GTs.

It has a 5.0-liter V8 engine that gets 480 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque, and comes with a six-speed manual transmission. It also comes complete with a vintage-style, white cue ball knob on the gearshift.

1: McQueen Was A Real Driver… But Not For Much Of The Chase

McQueen’s effortless style, grit, grace. Unfortunately, McQueen was only filmed in 10% of that chase! At first, he began filming doing all of his own stunts, but after overshooting a right turn, Warner Bros brought in professional stunt drivers.

Loren Janes, the fabled Hollywood stuntman and McQueen double for all of his movies, filmed the majority of the chase. Loren has pulled off hair-raising stunts in over 500 films and 2,100 TV episodes.