Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Steve McQueen's 1968 Ford Mustang GT 'Bullitt' - $3.7m

A beat up, dull green 1968 Ford Mustang GT driven by Steve McQueen in the movie "Bullitt" became the most valuable Ford Mustang ever sold at auction. It went for $3.7m in Kissimmee, Florida in 2020. The vendor was Sean Kiernan, whose late father Robert Kiernan purchased the car for $3,500 in 1974. McQueen tried to buy the car several times with no success. The 10 minute 'Bullitt' chase scene is considered the first and still one of the best 'modern' auto chase scenes. It set the standard for Hollywood car chases for generations.

1968 Dodge Hemi Charger R/T

17,000 Charger R/Ts were produced in 1968, but only 476 of them were armed with the 426 Hemi. 1 of 264 Hemi Charger R/Ts produced in 1968 with TorqueFlite transmission. Original sheet metal. 426/425 HP Hemi V-8 engine. TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic transmission. 3.23 ratio Sure Grip rear end. Matador Red with a White vinyl top and bumblebee stripe. White and Red interior with vinyl bucket seats. Power brakes. Hideaway headlights. Hood-mounted turn signals. Music Master AM radio.
For $3,506, the R/T came with the 375-bhp 440-cid four-barrel Magnum V-8, heavy-duty brakes, R/T handling package, and F70Xl4 tires. Some 476 serious muscle car fans ordered theirs with the monster 426 Hemi, a very serious $605 option. For that money one got an elephant engine severely underrated at 425 bhp.
Producers of the hit film Bullitt knew what they were doing when they cast the redesigned 1968 Dodge Hemi Charger R/T as Steve McQueen's foil. The 1968 Dodge Charger R/T Hemi was a muscle car with star quality. Charger's new hidden-headlamp grille, curvy body, elegant recessed backlight, refined tail, and spare use of chrome is a styling high point for late '60s muscle cars. It isn't cheap to buy a used Hemi Charger of the ’68–70 vintage. Hagerty suggests a #1 concours 1968 Charger R/T with Hemi is trending around $185k. This example crosses the block at Mecum.