While only one 1968 Ford Mustang fastback appears to star in the famous chase scene from the Steve McQueen flick Bullitt, two cars alternated duties on camera. One car took a heavier beating than the other and its whereabouts have been a mystery since, but a forum user says it recently wound up in a shop in Mexico.
Some say the car was scrapped due to heavy damage from filming and others that it was sold, but the IMDb records on the cars say that the more damaged Mustang went to the junkyard while an employee working on the movie bought the other at the end of post-production.
The beat-up Mustang took its trip to the junkyard alongside both 1968 Dodge Chargers used in the scene, according to the IMDb records. An original Charger from the scene went on sale in 2013, restored and with a price tag of $1 million.
But the Mustang was a mystery, and it still may be. A Vintage Mustang forum user posted a photo inside a green fastback in Feb. 28, saying he was lucky to be able to sit in it and that the car “almost got made in to an Eleanor.” Upon being asked what it was, other than looking “potentially Bullittish,” the user said it was in fact the missing Bullitt car.
That’s a wild claim and a hard one to verify, given that those working on the movie scrapped the car once everything wrapped up. But the forum user posted multiple photos and a VIN number that matches the one of the car used in the movie, saying that he believes the car has been in Mexico for 20 or 30 years. He also said he found out that the car will be heading to the U.S. for a restoration.
Whether or not any of that is true, we don’t know at the time. There just isn’t enough evidence, and this would be an unbelievably rare find. But we’ll keep our eyes on it and see what we can find out for you.
Hat tip to HacksawSays!