The ??? ?? ?? ???Bullitt is going, going, gone.
On Friday, the Ford Mustang driven by Steve McQueen in the 1968 thriller Bullitt sold for $3.4 million at a Mecum Auction in Kissimmee, Florida. The star in a chase scene lauded by many as the greatest in cinematic history, the vehicle just became the highest-priced Mustang ever sold in a public auction. The previous record was $2.2 million.
Fans of the McQueen classic may be surprised to learn bidding for the car started at just $3,500 — at the owner's insistence. In an interview with Bloomberg, Sean Kiernan, who inherited the car from his late father, said that was the original purchase price when it became the family's car in 1974.
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According to the LA Times, the price quickly jumped to $1 million before crescendoing at the hefty $3.4 million price tag ($3.74 million when accounting for buyers fees.)
Kiernan also required that the car be sold at "no reserve," meaning there was no minimum for which it could be purchased. Typically, if an item of this caliber doesn't meet a certain threshold, the owner can reclaim it and take it to auction again.
In that same interview with Bloomberg, Kiernan noted the emotional toll parting with the vehicle took on him, saying, "I don’t want to do this shit twice.” Kiernan spent the past year showing the car across the country.
At this time, it is not clear who purchased the iconic automobile.