Steve McQueen’s Ford Mustang GT from Bullitt makes European debut at Goodwood FOS

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Sean Kiernan owner of the iconic 1968 Ford Mustang GT

The iconic 1968 Ford Mustang GT driven by the late Steve McQueen in the movie Bullitt – and lost to history until the beginning of this year – will make its first appearance outside the US at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The car that starred in the film’s legendary 10-minute chase sequence – setting the standard for every movie car chase to follow – is set to feature on the 1.16-mile (1.9-kilometre) Goodwood Hillclimb course alongside the new special edition Ford Mustang Bullitt, now available to order in Europe.

One of two identical 1968 Mustang GT fastbacks used in the filming of Bullitt, the historic vehicle driven by McQueen resurfaced after more than three decades in storage. To fulfil his family’s lifelong dream, owner Sean Kiernan, who inherited the car in 2014 from his late father, Robert, contacted Ford and the two parties worked together to reveal his movie star car at the 2018 North American International Auto Show, Detroit, in January. Kiernan is also accompanying the car during its European debut at Goodwood.


Another very special Ford Mustang in one-off Eagle Squadron livery has been co-created by Ford Performance and Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s RTR Vehicles to pay tribute at Goodwood to American fighter pilots who served in the Royal Air Force during World War II (pictured above).

World champion drifter Gittin Jr. will pilot the 700 horsepower Eagle Squadron Mustang GT on the Hillclimb course before the unique sports car is returned to the US to be auctioned at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s largest fundraiser, The Gathering – with proceeds supporting the Association’s youth education programmes. Gittin Jr. also returns to the Hillclimb in his bespoke Mustang RTR drift car.

In addition to the track and rally stage action, visitors to the Ford stand at Goodwood have the opportunity to discover new models including the all-new Ford Focus and Ford’s comprehensive sport utility vehicle line-up that includes the compact EcoSportmid-sized Kuga and flagship Edge models.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed runs from Thursday, July 12 to Sunday, July 15 at Goodwood House, West Sussex, England.

Chris Price
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