The original Bullitt hero Mustang is the 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback with serial number 8R02S125559, known as the “559” car. It appeared in many of Steve McQueen’s close-up scenes, while a second Mustang, serial 8R02S125558, handled many stunts and jumps. The hero car survived filming, family use and storage, was publicly identified in 2018, and sold at auction in 2020.
Which Mustang was the original Bullitt car?
The hero car was a 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback, serial number 8R02S125559, often called the “559” car. Ford and the Historic Vehicle Association (HVA) identified it as the Mustang used for many of McQueen’s close-up scenes. It was not the only Mustang in the chase: serial number 8R02S125558, the “558” car, was used for many stunt scenes and jumps. The sources do not establish that every shot—or every scene in the chase—used the 559.
Ford production information, credited in the HVA release to Ford Motor Company and Kevin Marti of Marti Auto Works, records the 559 as built at Ford’s San Jose, California, plant. Its factory specification included Highland Green paint (code 3067-A), black vinyl luxury bucket seats and a four-speed manual transmission. The reported build date is January 8, 1968; it was sold on March 11, 1968. Ford/HVA’s 2018 release documents the identification and production details.
How the film cars were prepared
The two Mustangs shared their basic build specifications and were modified for filming by Max Balchowsky. The HVA account lists a Borg-Warner T-10 heavy-duty four-speed transmission and clutch, a modified 390-cubic-inch engine, milled heads, a modified carburetor and distributor, a 4:10 Positraction rear end, reinforced mounts and chassis, heavy-duty springs and shocks, stabilizers, American Racing wheels, racing tires, custom exhaust and a Shelby-type steering wheel. Exterior Ford and Mustang badges were removed, the Highland Green paint was scuffed to reduce its shine, and the reverse lights were taken off.
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That is a record of the cars’ film preparation, not a verified inventory of parts still present on the 559 today. The surviving car’s later history includes repairs and component changes.
What happened to the Mustang after filming?
After production, the 559 was repaired and repainted Highland Green for resale. Sean Kiernan’s account in the 2018 Ford/HVA release says the paint was not changed again after that respray. He also described the seats, interior, trunk and camera-mount evidence as consistent with the car’s movie history, alongside the wear of family road use and storage.
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The Mustang became a Kiernan family car. Sean said the family had owned it for 44 years by the time of its 2018 reveal. His father, Robert, took it apart as a project; the family used and stored it, and Sean later worked to return it to the condition it had as his parents’ daily driver.
“Unrestored” can describe the car’s preserved appearance and retained evidence, but it does not mean that no work was ever done. The engine was rebuilt, aging carpets were replaced, and a similar steering wheel was added. The front bumper and valance were replaced after damage in the 1970s. Kiernan explained his preservation choice this way: “The car is honest and that’s the way I wanted it.”
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How the car was documented and revealed
In 2018, Ford and the HVA worked with the Kiernan family to reveal the car publicly alongside the new Mustang Bullitt at the North American International Auto Show. The HVA photographed, scanned and documented it for the National Historic Vehicle Register in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Historic American Engineering Record; the materials were to be archived by the Library of Congress.
That documentation and the production information reproduced in the Ford/HVA release support the car’s identity. HVA president Mark Gessler called it “among the most important automotive artifacts of the twentieth century.”
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How much did the original Bullitt Mustang sell for?
At Mecum’s Kissimmee auction on January 10, 2020, the 559 sold for a $3.4 million hammer price. FordMuscle reported a total of $3.74 million after the buyer’s premium. Its sale report also says Kevin Marti of Marti Auto Works verified the car’s authenticity and presented an Elite Marti Report. The sale figures describe this transaction, not a general measure of Mustang values. FordMuscle’s auction report covers the sale.
The reviewed reporting does not identify the buyer or establish who owns the car now. At the time of the sale, Kiernan said, “It annihilated the record, and obviously as far as Mustangs go, this is it.”
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