Never-Before-Revealed Photos from Behind the Scenes of Bullitt Movie

It captivated moviegoers in 1968, became an object of obsession for The King of Cool, fueled decades of tall tales, spun the rumor mill with incessant interest, made a triumphant return to the public eye in 2018, smashed auction records in 2020, and is still one of the most beloved and studied pieces of Hollywood’s automotive history.

Today, the Bullitt Mustang is covered in rust, crust, scratches, scars, dents, dings, and plenty of Bondo, but doesn’t matter; this Ford has all but transcended the mortal realm to become something of a deity for car and film lovers. Why? The short answer is because it’s just plain cool. Cool in a way that today’s hypercars and big-budget productions can never be: authentically.

The Mustang is relatable, attainable. The stunts were real. The chase scenes were devoid of computer-generated glitz and studio set trickery. The driving duel between Steve McQueen’s 1968 Ford Mustang and the antagonist’s Dodge Charger is probably one of the most rewound sequences in moviemaking history, but it also looked like something you could do in a car you could own, if only you had good reason to.

Thanks to that impeccably imperfect stunt work, the star power, and the steep streets of San Francisco where it all went down (and up and sideways and airborne), the Bullitt Mustang became a legend. When McQueen passed away in 1980 at the age of 50 (after unsuccessfully trying to acquire his character’s Highland Green Mustang) and the car all but disappeared, it became infamous. There were actually two stunt ‘Stangs used in the film: one “jump car” that took the brunt of the hard-driving stunts, and one “hero car” for the less-destructive shots, and we covered the latter’s eventual return to the spotlight a few years ago, but the story continues to advance.

Most recently, this has taken the form of previously unreleased behind-the-scenes images from the making of Bullitt. Shot by prolific photographer Barry Feinstein and licensed to Ford by Sean Kiernan (whose family owned the star car from the 1970s until its $3.74 million sale at auction in 2020), these photographer contact sheets have never been seen by the public until now …

https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/shot-behind-the-scenes-fresh-photos-from-the-making-of-bullitt/

(photo credit: Ford / Barry Feinstein)