Don’t call your Ford Mustang Eleanor, not if you want to avoid being hit by a lawsuit by the Halicki estate. For all those who haven’t watched the first movie because well, Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie star in the second one, here’s a little rundown.
In 1971, H.B. “Toby” Halicki, decided to make a movie about a car-stealing gang, and in doing so, turned a Mustang into an unforgettable avatar that he dubbed Eleanor. At the time, Eleanor was a yellow Mustang, shown to be a 1973 Mach I model in the 1974 movie Gone in 60 Seconds, but in truth was a decked-up 1971 model.
The movie was crude and had no big stars save for Halicki who not only produced and directed the movie but also acted and did his own stunts. But the crudeness was effective, and the movie soon acquired a cult status, heading for a 2000-remake, this time starring Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie. While everything else changed with the new movie, one thing remains constant, the fame of Eleanor using the iconic pony car from Ford.
The Eleanor was back, this time in silver. And no less in demand. So where are the Gone in 60 Seconds Eleanors now, and can you ever get your hands on one of them?
Updated August 2022: The Ford Mustang Eleanor got its fame by getting beaten up in the iconic movie Gone in 60 Seconds. We have updated this article with more information and the latest news on where the Eleanor driven by Nicolas Cage is today.
The Yellow Eleanor from 1974
Halicki allegedly got the Mustangs in 1971 and had no money to do them up or make a move, so he waited it out. He finally got the wherewithal by 1973 and jazzed up his cars to look like the current 1973 Mustangs. The hero car, the one which did the stills and gentle shots was kept stock under the hood.
The other one, the car in which Halicki did all the stunts, took 250 man-hours to convert into the Mustang’s version of Death Proof. The cockpit had a NASCAR kind of roll cage with a fortified shoulder harness and seat belts. The engine was modified, and the automatic transmission was literally welded to the frame to ensure any bumps and jolts did not jar it out of the car.
There was a three-inch skid plate to help the car survive the stunts. Surprisingly, the hero car was crushed, and Halicki did not divulge how. The stunt car managed to survive that last 128-feet jump in the movie, although it was crushed and misaligned. Halicki himself suffered spinal injuries and remained a bit dented, like the Eleanor, till a stunt in the late ‘80s ended in his tragic death.
The car still survives, and it is Halicki’s widow, Denice Shakarian Halicki, who owns the bashed-up car that has been loaned to the likes of Peterson museum during Mustang show events. Of course, Denice has sued the likes of Shelby and other companies who have tried to use the “Eleanor” name considering she owns the copyrights.
Clearly, you may make a Mustang look yellow or silver, but heaven forbid, you call it Eleanor! Another interesting anecdote: the movie showed four “Eleanor” Mustangs but Halicki had only two cars and managed to create the impression with the help of different license plates. Clever, right?
The Silver Eleanor Mustang And Nicolas Cage
In 1995, Denice Shakarian worked with Jerry Bruckheimer and accepted the proposal to lend the Eleanor name to a remake of the original film by the same name. Nicolas Cage stepped into the late Halicki’s shoes as the actor, although this time, there were stuntmen aplenty.
The Eleanor in this movie was a gorgeous 1967 Ford Shelby Mustang GT 500 fastback and the hero cars came built by hot-rod legend Chip Foose with Steven Stanford. The bubble hooded beauty is only complemented by that gorgeous gunmetal grey exterior, with those twin racing stripes in black bisecting the car.
There are GT 500 decals on either side as well and the car boasts a 5.8-liter V8 that jets 400 horses mated to a four-speed manual transmission. This is the car that Randall “Memphis” Raines saves for the last to steal.
Like in most movie cars, there were multiple copies of the car made, and it said that a total of eleven cars were used in the movie. Only five were hero cars, the real deal under the hood and three of the hero cars survived production.
Where Are The Eleanor Mustangs From Gone In 60 Seconds Today
In 2013, one of these hero cars was sold for a whopping $1.1 million at a Mecum auction. While the movie may not have done all that well at the BO considering the exorbitant production costs, it seems Eleanor’s cult has only grown. Some seven years down the line, prices have slipped up a bit, and in 2020, another one of these hero movie cars was auctioned at Mecum for $852,000.
Just recently, one of the hero cars has surfaced in Germany for sale, by classic car dealer Chrome Cars. This happens to be the same car that was sold in 2013 at Mecum. Though none of the Eleanor cars were true Shelbys, their legacy and beauty have only grown over the years, so clearly, Eleanor is still very much the heroine to date and collectors are willing to pay through their nose to own one.
Sources: Ford, Mecum Auctions, Chrome Cars