One of the most iconic cars of all time, featured in the 1968 film Bullitt starring Steve McQueen, is coming up for auction this January. This Fastback Mustang and the ensuing car chase set the stage for every car chase scene in every movie that followed.

This is one of two Mustangs that Ford Motor Company lent to Warner Bros. as a promotional agreement for use in the movie. These two Fastbacks were powered by a 325 horsepower, 390 big block engine and backed by a 4-speed transmission. The engine, suspension, and brakes were heavily modified on both cars before use in the film.

The car that is coming up to auction is “the hero car” and is an utter rarity. It has been kept in as original condition as possible with provenance and a letter authenticating this Mustang’s star-status from Warner Bros. Not only has it reached stardom on the big screen, it also just happens to be the 21st car ever entered into the National Historic Vehicle Register, as seen in the following picture.

This Fastback retains all original components down to the welded-on camera mounts on the rockers. It comes up for auction in January of 2020 to anyone with pockets deep enough to acquire it.

The provenance is as follows:

It was originally sold to Warner Bros. employee, Robert Ross after the movie was released. It was then acquired by a New Jersey detective in 1970, who sold it to the family who will continue to own it until January of next year.

This is a NO RESERVE auction, which means the highest bidder wins.

The engine is a rebuilt S-code 390 CI motor with a 4 barrel carb sitting on top. Oddly enough, it was used as a daily driver by the Kiernan family who acquired it in 1974 for just $6,000. It was used as the sole grocery getter until the clutch went in 1980. Then, with only 65,000 on the odometer, it was garaged. It sat in various garages throughout the country as the family who owned the car moved a few different times. Then in 2001 it began its long trek to reemerge to its former glory once more, as the family set out to make it roadworthy.

The car took a lot longer to complete than originally anticipated. After some family troubles, diagnosis of illness, and a death in the family, the car wasn’t officially done and unveiled to the public until 2018 at the Detroit Auto Show next to Ford’s Third Edition Bullitt Mustang.

This famous, green Mustang Fastback GT is in excellent, almost-original condition with the proper amount of patina in all the right places. While far from perfect with all the dents, dings, scratches, missing paint, rust, ripped interior, missing headliner, and other “patina,” it is a perfect car just as it sits, needing absolutely nothing.

Rare cars will usually command a strong price in the right auction environment. They’re usually what I consider “one of” cars. What this means is that there were so many made, and a lot of the time, there are still at least a handful of them left to be had. For example, I once owned a Trans Am that was 1 of 18 made with those options. (I still kick myself for selling it so cheap.)

This Mustang is forever to be considered, at least to me, as a “One Off” car. Notice that there is an extra “f” there. That to me, means that this is the only car of its type. While yes, there were technically two Mustangs lent to Warner Bros. as I stated above, this one is still around in near original condition. And there can only ever be one 21st “National Historic Vehicle Register” car in existence. That title can go to no other car.

I suspect that this car will command a high price, unless someone steals it among a disinterested crowd.

After all, only a few rare cars in history have inspired the automotive culture and love of going fast as much as this Mustang has. The Trans Am from Smokey and the Bandit comes to mind, and the Charger from The Fast and the Furious inspired a different generation. And of course, Eleanor also wins hearts and minds both times she graced the screen. But the one that started it all, whether you’re a fan of Ford’s pony car or not, is this ’68 Fastback from Bullitt.

This beauty will be auctioned off at Mecum’s Kissimmee show taking place January 2-12, 2020 and is LOT R500. You can find more information on this car by visiting Mecum’s website. All pictures belong to Mecum, and were taken from that linked page.

Here are a couple more pictures of this gorgeous GT Fastback out of sheer appreciation: