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Ford Mustang first generation · 1964½–1973
Colors and paint codes
1968 Ford Mustang · Bullitt (1968)
Warner Bros. bought two Highland Green 1968 Ford Mustang fastbacks for Bullitt (1968). Car '559, used for Steve McQueen's close-ups, sold at Mecum's Kissimmee auction in 2020 for $3.74 million with fees (USD). The stunt car, '558, was found in Mexico in 2016.
Warner Bros. bought two 1968 Mustang fastbacks for the film, both painted Highland Green, with the 390 V8 and a four-speed manual. Their VINs run in sequence: 8R02S125558 and 8R02S125559.123
Car '559 was the hero car, used for close-ups and beauty shots with McQueen at the wheel. Car '558 was the jump car, used for the stunts.24
McQueen drove in many shots. Bud Ekins and stunt coordinator Carey Loftin drove the Mustang in the harder parts of the chase. Wikipedia also lists McQueen's usual stunt driver, Loren Janes, among the chase drivers; MotorTrend names only McQueen, Ekins and Loftin as Mustang drivers and places Janes in the airport scene. When the rear-view mirror is turned away, a stuntman is driving.15
The hitmen drove a black 1968 Dodge Charger R/T, with stunt driver Bill Hickman, who played one of them, at the wheel. Two Chargers with the 440 V8 were used, one for close-ups and one for stunts. Balchowsky stiffened the stunt car's suspension and left the engines largely stock.156
The HVA's register entry and Wikipedia give the chase as 9 minutes 42 seconds. Other sources, including the HVA's own press release, give about 10, 11 or 12 minutes.124578
Max Balchowsky prepared both Mustangs. For '559 the HVA lists a Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed with a heavy-duty clutch, a 390 built by Balchowsky with milled heads and a modified carburetor and distributor, a 4.10 Positraction rear axle, Koni shocks, heavy-duty coil springs, frame reinforcements and American Racing wheels.2one source
MotorTrend adds reinforced and bridged shock towers and a thicker anti-roll bar. Even so, the 325-hp Mustang could not keep pace with the Charger's stock 375-hp 440.5one source
For the look, every exterior Ford and Mustang badge came off, the Highland Green paint was scuffed dull, the reverse lights were removed, and parts such as the rear gas cap were painted black.2one source
The jump car got extra welding and bracing and a camera on its roll bar, according to an account from about 1990 reproduced on MustangSpecs. For the final crash, a Mustang towed the Charger alongside on a release rig.59
Wikipedia says both Mustangs had the GT package. MotorTrend says only one did, and that badges and grilles came off both so they would look alike. Car '559's factory data lists the GT equipment group.125
After filming, '559 was repaired and repainted by Precision Auto Body in Hollywood for $920.16 and sold to Warner Bros. employee Robert Ross. Ross sold it to New Jersey detective Frank Marranca, who had it shipped east by rail. The HVA dates that sale to 1970, Hagerty to 1971.210
In 1974 Marranca advertised the car in Road & Track, and Robert Kiernan of Madison, New Jersey, bought it. It was the family's only car until the clutch failed in 1980, and then it was stored. What Kiernan paid is given as both $3,500 and about $6,000 (USD).268
In 1977 Steve McQueen tracked the car down, called Robert Kiernan and followed up with a letter asking to buy it back. Kiernan said no.24
Robert Kiernan died in 2014. His son Sean got the car running again, and Kevin Marti verified it in May 2016. Ford showed it at the Detroit auto show on 14 January 2018, next to the new 2019 Mustang Bullitt, and the HVA recorded it as the 21st car on the National Historic Vehicle Register.6711
Mecum sold the car in Kissimmee, Florida, on 10 January 2020 for $3.74 million with fees (USD); Hagerty puts the hammer price at $3.4 million. Mecum did not name the buyer, and no source we have says where '559 is today. The price was a record for a Mustang at public auction until a 1965 Shelby GT350R prototype, the 'Flying Mustang', sold for $3.85 million with fees ($3.5 million hammer) at an auction in Indianapolis in 2020 (USD), according to Hagerty.61213
Car '558 was badly damaged during filming. The story went that it was sent to a scrapyard; layers of paint found on it later suggest it had other lives first. For decades it was presumed lost.114
In 2016 Hugo Sanchez found it in Baja California Sur, Mexico, painted white and without its original drivetrain. He took it to Ralph Garcia Jr.'s shop in Mexicali to be made into an 'Eleanor' clone. In early 2017 Kevin Marti inspected it in Mexicali and confirmed its identity from the VIN plate and date stamps on body panels. Filming modifications such as strut-tower reinforcements and holes in the trunk for power cables had survived.14one source
Garcia and Sanchez began a full restoration in 2017. According to FordMuscle, the car was shown at a detailing event at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles on 20 June 2026, where Garcia said it was about 95 percent restored and still missing a few original parts.13
Ford has sold three Mustang Bullitt editions named after the film: 2001, 2008 and the 2019–2020 car, whose 5.0-liter V8 makes 480 hp. They are new cars, not film cars.1111516
Two Mustangs are documented, with VINs one number apart. A stuntman's claim of a third car has no VIN or document behind it.214
| Car | VIN | On screen | What happened to it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car '559 (hero car) | 8R02S125559 | Close-ups and beauty shots with McQueen driving | Sold by Warner Bros. after filming; owned by the Kiernan family 1974–2020; sold at Mecum, Kissimmee, 10 January 2020, for $3.74 million with fees (USD); buyer not named2612 |
| Car '558 (jump car) | 8R02S125558 | Jumps and stunts | Reportedly sent to a scrapyard after filming; found in Baja California Sur, Mexico, in 2016; about 95 percent restored when shown at the Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles, in June 2026 (FordMuscle)2314 |
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1968 | Warner Bros. sells '559 to its employee Robert Ross, who registers it in California.26 |
| 1970 | Ross sells '559 to New Jersey detective Frank Marranca (Hagerty says 1971).2one source |
| 1974 | Robert Kiernan answers Marranca's ad in the October 1974 issue of Road & Track and buys '559.2one source |
| 1977 | Steve McQueen calls Robert Kiernan and then writes asking to buy '559 back. Kiernan refuses.24 |
| 1980 | The clutch fails and '559 is parked, with 65,000 miles on the odometer.1112 |
| 2016 | Hugo Sanchez finds '558 in Baja California Sur, Mexico.14one source |
| May 2016 | Kevin Marti examines '559 and verifies it.11one source |
| 6 March 2017 | Fox News reports that Kevin Marti has inspected the Mustang found in Mexico and confirmed it is '558.14one source |
| 14 January 2018 | '559 is unveiled at the Detroit auto show and recorded as the 21st car on the National Historic Vehicle Register.711 |
| 10 January 2020 | Mecum sells '559 in Kissimmee, Florida, for $3.74 million with fees (USD); Hagerty gives the hammer price as $3.4 million.612 |
| 20 June 2026 | '558, about 95 percent restored, is shown at an event at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, FordMuscle reports.3one source |
The two film cars are 8R02S125558 and 8R02S125559. Car '559's factory data decodes as a 1968 fastback built in San Jose. Kevin Marti, who manages Ford's production database under license, checked both; on '558 he also confirmed that the VIN plate was original.21114
In 2018, '559 still had the camera mounts welded under its rocker panels, which can be seen in the film.1117
Both cars have holes in the trunk for power cables from filming, and '559 has a large cut-out for a smoke machine. Car '558 keeps its strut-tower reinforcements.2614
When it was sold in 2020, '559 still carried its Warner Bros. parking permit on the windshield. It came with a Warner Bros. letter certifying its authenticity, and the Kiernans kept McQueen's 1977 letter.691011
After filming, '559 got body filler and a single-stage respray in Highland Green. By 2018 that paint had never been redone.24
A Highland Green 1968 Ford Mustang fastback with the 390 V8 and a four-speed manual. Two were used: '559 for close-ups and '558 for the stunts.12
Two documented cars, 8R02S125558 and 8R02S125559. A stuntman's claim of a third car has never been documented.214
Car '559 sold at Mecum's auction in Kissimmee, Florida, on 10 January 2020 for $3.74 million with fees (USD). Hagerty gives the hammer price as $3.4 million.612
Mecum did not name the buyer of '559 in 2020, and no source we have says where it is today. The stunt car, '558, about 95 percent restored, was shown at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles in June 2026, according to FordMuscle.36
Every conflict behind the figures on this page. All rulings.
Settled
Our ruling: We say two. Every source that names the cars gives these two VINs. The third car rests on a quote from Loren Janes that Fox News, which reports it, calls undocumented, and Kevin Marti found no third car in Ford's production records.
Settled
Our ruling: All three describe the same sale in USD. The hammer price was $3.4 million and the price with the buyer's fees $3.74 million, as Hagerty gives both. CNN and Wikipedia round the total to $3.7 million. Motor Authority reported «$3.4 million» the same day without saying whether fees were included; the figure matches the hammer price Hagerty gives. We show both figures, labeled, and say that the split comes from Hagerty.
Open
Our ruling: Open. Both figures trace back to the Kiernan family, and Sean Kiernan was born in 1981, after the purchase. In 2018 he told the HVA the family was not exactly sure and put it at around six grand; at the 2020 auction he told CNN and the bidders $3,500. We give the range, $3,500 to about $6,000 (USD), and do not pick one.
Settled
Our ruling: We use 1974. The owner's family and the HVA tie it to the ad in Road & Track's October 1974 issue, and every source written since the 2018 reveal agrees. MustangSpecs' 1972 comes from the owner himself, kept anonymous in an account from about 1990 reproduced on its page. We use 1974 because the ad he answered ran in Road & Track's October 1974 issue, a dated document.
Open
Our ruling: Open. The HVA says 1970 and Hagerty 1971, and neither cites a document for the year. Ross registered the car in December 1968, according to the registration card MustangSpecs' story describes, so 'a year or so' fits either. We write 1970 in the timeline with Hagerty's 1971 beside it.
Settled
Our ruling: We follow the owner's own list given to the HVA: a rebuilt engine, new carpets, a new steering wheel, a new front bumper and valance, and the paint left as it was. CBS News' 'top to bottom' does not fit that list. CNN uses 'restore' for getting the car back to running condition, which is how we read Wikipedia's sentence too.
Open
Our ruling: Open. The sources agree on Mexico, on the Baja peninsula and on 2016, and Los Cabos lies in Baja California Sur. They differ on whether the car stood in a junkyard or a backyard, and the Fox News article that Wikipedia cites first says junkyard. We write 'found in Baja California Sur, Mexico'.
Open
Our ruling: Open for '558. Car '559's factory data, which the HVA credits to Ford and Kevin Marti, lists the GT equipment group. No source we have prints the same data for '558: FordMuscle calls it a GT without showing the report, and the source Wikipedia cites for 'both' names only '559. A Marti Report on 8R02S125558, printed in full, would settle it.
Settled
Our ruling: We use the 440. Wikipedia and MotorTrend both give it, and MotorTrend names the 375-hp rating. The 426 is hedged with 'reportedly' in the account from about 1990 reproduced on MustangSpecs. The 1968 Charger page covers the R/T 440.
Open
Our ruling: Open. Wikipedia cites the MotorTrend article for this paragraph, but MotorTrend names a Fairlane. The Galaxie may come from the other article Wikipedia cites (SFGate, 2003), which we have not read.
Open
Our ruling: Open. The HVA's register entry and Wikipedia give 9 minutes 42 seconds, but the HVA's own press release from the same day says eleven minutes, and about 11 minutes has three families behind it. None of the sources says where it starts and stops counting. We show 9 minutes 42 seconds with its sources and the other figures beside it. Timing the film, with a stated start and end point, would settle it.
Settled
Our ruling: We use 65,000 miles from Hagerty (two articles, one family). The 40,000 comes from the anonymous owner in the older story MustangSpecs reprints, who said he had not seen the car in almost six years. The HVA's account says the family itself added 46,000 miles, which rules out a reading of 40,000 around 1990 unless the odometer had rolled over.
Open
Our ruling: Open. All three name McQueen and Bud Ekins. Whether Loren Janes drove the Mustang is disputed: MotorTrend, which interviewed the crew, says only three people drove it and puts Janes under the airliner wheels in the runway scene. The HVA's list also includes Bill Hickman, who drove the Charger, so it does not say who drove which car.
Settled
Our ruling: We say 1968. The hero car was not built until 8 January 1968 and was sold new on 11 March 1968, so the chase cannot have been filmed in 1967. MotorTrend puts the crew in San Francisco in February 1968 and the HVA dates production to the spring of 1968.
American Car Classics is an independent reference. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Warner Bros.. The names are used only to identify the cars.
The car itself
