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Sunday, March 12, 2017

McQueen's 'Bullitt' Mustang Found

Can you believe it! The 1968 Mustang GT  Steve McQueen drove in 'Bullitt' has been found, or has it?

The Bullitt jumper car being restored
Disappearing shortly after filming and despite McQueen's efforts to locate and purchase it, the car hasn't been seen since.

Now, two auto restorers say that they found the car in a scrapyard in Baja, CA. and towed it to their bodyshop in Mexicali, Mexico where they have begun restoration.  After running the VIN number, Ralph Garcia, Jr. one of the owners, discovered it was the famous missing 'Bullitt' Mustang. The authenticity of the car was further verified by Ford expert evaluator Kevin Marti.

Marti told CMG that there were two identical cars used in the filming of 'Bullitt'. A "hero" car that was used for casual driving, and a "jumper" car that was used for the dramatic chase scenes, some of which involved airborne launches. "This is the jumper", Marti says, "based on documents obtained from the film, and the alterations that were made to the car's suspension system. The "hero" car is in the possession of an anonymous U.S. owner."

Ken Gross, noted car historian, values the Mustang at over $1 million but Garcia says it is not for sale, and is headed for a complete restoration. Marti said, "What Garcia has done to the car has already diminished its value. When I first spoke to him, I advised not to do anything before the car was evaluated, but that advice was not taken. It is worth more to true car aficionados in its raw, unrestored state."

So, the missing 'Bullitt' Mustang GT has been found, now it's time to start looking for James Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder.

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