Long-Lost Stunt Bullitt Mustang Breaks Cover At The Petersen Museum

Anyone in the Ford world remembers when the original Bullitt hero car emerged from decades of secrecy as part of Ford’s promotional campaign for the S550-era Bullitt Mustang’s rollout. That car eventually hammered for record-setting money at auction. What you might not remember is that a decade ago, word broke that the long-lost stunt car had been located. Since that time, the car that took all the bumps and made all the jumps was restored, and it made its debut during Autogeek Detail Fest on June 20 at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California.

For decades, enthusiasts wondered whether the authentic Bullitt stunt car had survived filming at all after the King of Cool himself, Steve McQueen, wheeled it onscreen. Thought to have been destroyed after production wrapped on the 1968 classic, the Highland Green 1968 Mustang GT instead spent decades hidden away in Mexico before being authenticated by Ford historian Kevin Marti, of Marti Auto Works, through its VIN and the unique modifications made specifically for filming. Following a decade-long restoration by World Class Performance & Restorations, the legendary Bullitt 558 stunt car finally returned to the public eye.

“First, I’d like to say thank you to the Petersen Museum for having us here, and they’ve been so generous and so helpful letting us work here with the car,” Ralph Garcia, of World Class Performance & Restorations, said during the reveal. “The car has been restored up to 95 percent. It’s still not complete. We’re still missing a couple of original NOS parts, and so we’ve been waiting on those. They’re on the way…”

While the hero car handled the glamour shots, this is the Mustang that earned its place in automotive history. It absorbed the hard landings, tackled San Francisco’s steep streets, and helped create what many enthusiasts still consider the greatest movie car chase ever filmed. To survive the demanding production, legendary Hollywood mechanic Max Balchowsky reinforced the suspension and made several structural modifications that remain part of the car today.

Back To Life

Motivation for the stunt Bullitt comes from the factory 390-cubic-inch FE V8, rated at 325 horsepower. The big-block Mustang carried an estimated top speed of 130 mph, a respectable number for a performance car in 1968. Combined with a four-speed manual transmission and Balchowsky’s aforementioned chassis upgrades, the Bullitt stunt car was built to endure repeated jumps and aggressive driving that would have quickly sidelined a stock Mustang, and those changes made it more identifiable under the white paint that disguised its original iconic hue.

“…It was found by Hugh Sanchez. This gentleman found this car, and he brought it to me. We were supposed to do it into an Eleanor,” Garcia explained. “…We ran a Marti report, and it came back as it was the Bullitt lost for almost 50 years at the time. And from that point, we started gathering some information, and it’s been 10 years to get it done. We’re like 95-percent done right now.”

From that moment, it was a long road for the car to come back from the brink and get to the point where it was revealed during the Detail Fest event at the museum, where it was used to demonstrate detailing products to those in attendance. And some of the scraps from the restoration process were even incorporated into a new line of timepieces from REC Watches.

“It’s been very special. I mean, it’s been 10 years. You know, at the time when I got the car, my parents were alive. So them not being here, it’s hard. I was expecting them to be here when the car was done, and I didn’t get a chance to get it done, but yeah, it’s been a part of the family… part of me now.”

If you couldn’t make it to the reveal, it’s not too late to lay eyes on this iconic pony car. Currently, visitors to the Petersen Automotive Museum can experience this remarkable piece of Mustang and movie history on display.