MUTE WITNESS

I T’S BEAT, IT’S MOSTLY GREEN, and it’s likely the most famous Ford Mustang on the planet. Want proof? Ford sent off both its fourth and fifth generations of Mustang with film-tribute cars, series-built to honor the screen star, long lost to the public view. Then, when Ford came out with its sixth-gen iteration of the Bullitt Mustang, the Dearborn automaker unveiled the original Mustang from the 1968 film Bullitt. The return of the actual Bullitt Mustang virtually overshadowed the newest generation of tribute car.

This Highland Green fastback was one of two that played the transportation of San Francisco Police Lieutenant Frank Bullitt (a character played by that icon of cool, Steve McQueen). This one is special, though, since it’s the “hero car” actually used by McQueen in interior shots, including those in the famous chase scene.

If you haven’t seen the movie, it’s worth a watch. After five decades of TV shows following the same format, it may seem like a routine police procedural, but the acting (in addition to McQueen it features Jacqueline Bisset as Frank Bullitt’s girlfriend, Robert Vaughn as a politically motivated D.A., and a then-obscure Robert Duvall in a brief