When somebody says they found an extremely rare vintage car tucked away in a barn, more often than not, it’s either a replica or an entirely different model than they think it is. But one man in Mexico found a car that had been presumed dead for roughly half a century, and it’s the real deal.
Ford expert Kevin Marti recently told FOX News the Highland Green 1968 Ford Mustang fastback found in a junkyard in Mexico indeed is one of the two cars used in the filming of “Bullitt,” which starred Steve McQueen. Marti traveled to Mexicali, Mexico to inspect the car, which was on display at a local Ford dealer.
“I’m 100 percent sure it’s authentic. … It’s not the first time one of these old movie cars showed up in a junkyard, but it’s rare,” Marti said.
This Mustang isn’t the car McQueen was shown driving in the movie. That star car currently is part of a private collection and is rarely shown in public. The car in question was used for most of the stunts in “Bullit’s” chase scene, and its whereabouts have been a mystery since filming wrapped.
Last year, a man named Hugo Sanchez found it in Baja California Sur. Sanchez didn’t realize what he’d found, as the body was white at the time, and had several layers of paint underneath. In fact, it wasn’t until he took the Mustang to Ralph Garcia Jr.’s custom car shop to have it turned into an “Eleanor” — the Shelby GT500 from “Gone in 60 Seconds” — when he learned the Mustang’s cinematic pedigree.
Sanchez’s find gained a lot of attention online after a friend of the shop’s owner, Vintage Mustang Forum user Fede Garza, posted pictures of the car and its story.
He and Garcia now co-own the car, and already are in the process of sourcing parts to fully restore it.
Thumbnail photo via Flickr/Steve Glover
