Monterey, CA — Mecum Auctions announced yesterday that the first consignment for its Jan. 2-12, 2020 auction in Kissimmee, Fla., is the iconic 1967 “Bullitt” Mustang from the 1968 Warner Bros. action film that starred Steve McQueen.

Photo: Tom Stahler

The car sat in a private owner’s garage, untouched for 40 years except for mechanical maintenance. The late owner’s son, Sean Keirnan, consigned the olive green car — one of two built for the motion picture — to Mecum. The car served as the primary film car for driving scenes with McQueen; the second “stunt” car that performed the jumps and other hazardous moves was discovered in Mexico in 2017 and understandably is not nearly as original due to its harsh duties.

Keirnan noted the car served as the daily driver for his mother, a Catholic school teacher, and was his father’s weekend car. He added that McQueen offered to buy the car back in 1977.

Auction owner Dana Mecum said he views the car selling as a piece of “pop culture art,” and estimated that the car, which is being offered at no reserve, will become the highest-priced American muscle car sold at auction. The current record, he stated at a press conference in Monterey yesterday, is held by a 1971 Hemi ‘Cuda convertible, at $3.5 million.

Mecum, in Monterey for his 11th auction here with 600 cars, said he’s shooting for a whopping 4,000 collector cars at the 2020 Kissimmee sale, the world’s largest single collector car auction.