The getaway Mustang coupe that Nicolas Cage drove in the blockbuster "Gone in 60 Seconds" sold for $1 million last weekend. In the 2000 film, Cage steals 50 cars for another thief threatening to kill his brother, and just like the 1974 original, a Mustang nicknamed "Eleanor" proves to be his riskiest heist in the final scenes. It's not too difficult, as Eleanor is actually a brand-new car underneath its replica Shelby GT500 body, replete with a 400-horsepower V8 engine and modern tires, brakes and suspension.
While three Eleanor Mustangs were built, the one sold at Saturday's Mecum Original Spring Classic auction in Indianapolis was used in all the movie's close-ups and promotional materials; the other two were crashed during chase scenes. In 2008, the same car found no buyers after a failed bid on eBay. Other movie cars have done very well at auction, including the original 1966 Batmobile, which sold in January for $4.62 million.
In most cases, "resto mods" like the film's 1967 Mustang fastback – built by the same Hollywood shop responsible for the original "Ghostbusters" Cadillac hearse and the 1970 Charger that Vin Diesel drives in "Fast and the Furious" – don't command high prices among collectors. Ford officially licenses Mustang body reproductions from 1965-1970, and parts are so plentiful that many shops, including Oklahoma-based Classic Restorations, built and sold their own Eleanors for more than $100,000 each.
That's a good thing, because ripping apart an original Shelby and tacking on new parts with no historical significance would essentially blacklist any shop from existence.
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