Posted on 07/02/2018 1:09:42 PM PDT by BBell
The iconic car emerged earlier this year after years out of the spotlight. The Ford Mustang GT 390 driven by Steve McQueen in cult classic Bullitt is set to make its first ever appearance outside of the United States at this month's Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The car is one of the most famous and iconic cars from the silver screen. Two were used in the production a stunt car (serial number 558), and another (serial number 559) which was driven by McQueen himself. The stunt car was uncovered in Mexico last year, but the hero car has been hidden, presumed lost, for several decades.
However, it wasn't lost. Not quite.
Robert Kiernan bought the car for $6,000 in 1974 ($30,000 in 2018) after noticing an advert in Road & Track magazine. Kiernan's wife Robbie used the car for some time as her daily driver, during that time Steve McQueen managed to track down the car and wrote to the family pleading with them to sell it to him, but they had no interest in parting with the car.
(Excerpt) Read more at motor1.com ...
The Charger R/T w/440 was undeniably quicker & faster. The stunt driver in the movie (also the actor for the mob man), Bill Hickman, had to restrain the Charger for the sake of the film.
The production team even undergripped & undersized tires on the Charger to attempt to even the score, but the Mustang still couldn’t keep up.
There has been article after article on this in many car mags. I am sure many more will come. Not to say the Mustang isn’t cool, but it didn’t perform as well as the Charger in any category. It’s sole claim to fame was that it was Steve’s chariot in the movie.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.