{"id":2354,"date":"2020-01-10T17:00:33","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T17:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.co.uk\/magazine\/?p=2354"},"modified":"2024-09-12T10:21:55","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T09:21:55","slug":"1968-ford-mustang-bullitt-heads-to-auction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-ford-mustang-bullitt-heads-to-auction\/","title":{"rendered":"Bullitt Sells for $3,400,000!"},"content":{"rendered":"

January 10, 2020<\/h3>\n

Well, today is the day and we have been sat, glued to our monitor watching the live feed of the Mecum Collector Car Auction<\/a>, happening in Kissimmee, Florida. Many stunning cars went over the block, but it was lot F150 we were waiting for, which was of course, the<\/em> Bullitt 1968 Ford Mustang GT. As we covered in the article below that we posted in back in August, Sean Keirnan, the son of Robert Keirnan who bought the car from the production company way back when, has decided it’s time to part company with the iconic Mustang. It was offered with no reserve. Speaking at the auction, “We’re all here as a family. It’s been in my family for for 45 years. It’s been sold twice in it’s live, both times for $3,500, so we’re going to start it from there!”<\/p>\n

Estimates in the press were anything from $5,000,000 through to an incredible $20,000,000. And going off the lots that went through before the Bullitt Mustang there was most definitely some money in the room. A lot<\/em> of money was being spent, as evidenced by the C3 Corvette that went north of $350,000 a few lots prior, but it seemed there was a hell of a lot being saved for the Mustang.<\/p>\n

Bidding opened at a modest $3,500 as a nod to the car’s past, but that was nothing. Within seconds the bidding came alive, pushing the car to $2,000,000 in mere moments. The cowboy hat wearing auctioneer, talking a million miles an hour even struggled to keep up. Bidders both in person and on the phone fought for a good five minutes, with the bidding slowing down at around $2,900,000 but in the end the hammer fell at an incredible $3,400,000 smashing the record set by a Ford, which was a 1967 Shelby GT500 that sold for $2.2 million at Mecum’s Kissimmee event last year. With Mecum’s 10% premium on top, Bullitt will come in at a cool $3,740,000.<\/p>\n

\"Bullit,<\/p>\n

While an impressive number for what is essentially a battered old Mustang that was in a film once, it’s nowhere near the most expensive American car ever sold. That plaudit goes to the 1935 Duesenberg SSJ Roadster sold at Pebble Beach in 2018 for $22,000,000. However, it has to rank highly in terms of being one of the most watched, and most anticipated classic car auctions to ever take place.<\/p>\n

All that remains now is to see what becomes of the car. Hopefully it will continue to be out and in the limelight, rather than being squirrelled away in a private collection, never to be seen again. A car like this, with such a fascinating history, should be out there, telling its story. And let’s just hope the new buyer leaves it ‘as is’, because it would be a crime to rid this automotive icon of what has to be some of the hardest-earned patina on any classic car, ever.<\/p>\n

August 15 – 2019<\/h3>\n