If you haven’t seen the 2014 Need for Speed movie starring Aaron Paul from Breaking Bad then you should. Despite garnering unfriendly reviews, with critics pointing out poor directing, unrealistic action scenes, and a less-than-riveting storyline, the movie went ahead to become a commercial success, pulling in $194,169,619 (some sources place that figure at over $200 million) from worldwide Box Office sales.

You don’t have to be a gearhead to recognize that the four-wheeled casts were central to the attraction both at home and abroad. Admittedly, Paul did not disappoint with his superb acting skills, but most people were more interested in the cool cars, especially the last Carroll Shelby-designed Ford Mustang.

We’re most likely preaching to the choir here. You’ve seen the EA-DreamWorks-produced movie adaptation of the popular video game of the same name, and you're familiar with the main star of that movie, the white, blue-striped Ford Mustang. Even so, what we have here will interest you a lot, as it contain plenty of what you may not know about the Need for Speed Mustang, as well as what it's worth today.

Related: Ford Announces Limited-Edition Mustang Shelby GT500 Heritage Edition With First-Ever Coastal Edition for 2022

What’s So Special About The Need For Speed Mustang?

Need-for-speed-mustang
via: Flickr

The Ford Mustang isn't just a popular vehicle. It's a celebrity too. In fact, the 2014 DreamWorks action flick was not the first time it starred in a movie. Besides NFS, the first that comes to mind is Steve McQueen’s Bullitt, a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. Actually, Mustang already popped its acting cherries four years prior, when it made its silver screen debut in the 1964 “Goldfinger” James Bond movie.

Who can deny Shelby's Mustang was built for greatness? Barely eight months after debuting at the New York World Fair on April 17, 1964, it got driven by the pretty assassin targeting Sean Connery in Goldfinger. Connery would later drive the car himself in the 1971 “Diamonds Are Forever” James Bond movie. When we saw the GT500 in action in the 2012 Alcatraz small screen sci-fi series finale, we were reminded of how it helped favor the Oscar-winning 1968 Bullitt as possessing one of the greatest car chase sequences of all time.

You may or may not have already known these, but there's more. Ford Mustang has appeared in over three thousand feature films and TV shows, making it deserving of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's practically one of the most productive entertainers and with a passionate global fan base. That's how we know the "3000 appearances" tally in the first place; an avid fan, Stefan Thorarensen, kick-started a crowd-sourced online database of the car’s appearances on big and small screens.

Ford_NeedForSpeed Mustang
 Via: Facebook

Even if you're not fond of watching movies, you should definitely see the 2000 remake of Gone in Sixty Seconds featuring Nicolas Cage and, of course, his 1967 silver/black-colored Ford “Eleanor” Mustang. Eleven ‘fake’ Eleanors were involved in shooting the movie, out of which three were working Mustangs, and two of the three were destroyed during filming. The surviving Eleanor Mustang driven by Nicolas Cage himself sold at auction for more than a million dollars in 2013.

Guess what? Eleanor wasn't even an original Shelby. It was built by Cinema Vehicle Services, with the help of coachbuilder Chip Foose.

Now, the Need for Speed Mustang is not your regular Pony. It was specially customized for the role. We say that with no intention to propagate the fanfare over this car, and that’s our gearhead talking. Unlike Eleanor that everyone who cares knows is not actually a Shelby, the Blue Oval went out of its way to convince us the NFS Mustang is something it really isn't.

Ford-Mustang-NFS-Movie-Edition
Via: Pinterest

We appreciate its fantastic performance and titillating portrayal of Carroll’s 1960s GT500. But that’s not enough reason to send us salivating over a custom movie car we thought could make 900 horsepower and a top speed of 234 mph. In reality, the NFS Mustang is a custom-built Shelby by Ford and DreamWorks specifically for the movie and with no real-world 900-hp mill. Still, the standard 500- or 600-hp 5.8L V8 is an impressive mill.

But it wasn’t just the engine that was misleading. A Press Release by Ford read thus;

“The Ford-designed and created made-for-movie Mustang will be featured prominently throughout the film and become part of the mythology of the movie. The “Need for Speed” Mustang features a custom-designed wide body, unique 22-inch alloy wheels, and larger air intakes to feed the supercharged V8 engine under its classic Mustang twin-nostril hood.”

NFS Mustang
Via Pinterest

When you realize the intakes weren't real either, you begin to wonder what else about the touted modifications are (what's the kindest word here) "unreal." Yes, those weren't functional intakes, and so was the "custom paint job with specially formulated silver-topped by blue stripes that glow when struck by light in the dark." Despite the “charming” mods, the Need for Speed Ford Mustang is a historic Pony.

Related: Why We Love The 1968 Shelby Mustang GT500 KR

How Much Is The Need For Speed Mustang Worth Today?

2014 NFS ford-mustang
via: Reddit

The GT500 Mustang is the most famous but by no means the only shining star cast in the 2014 NFS movie. According to Business Insider, more than 15 supercars were built in less than six months for the film, with each costing between $2-3 million. By the time the movie wrapped up, just three out of the 15 or so four-wheeled stars survived, one of them, the Ford Mustang.

It was sold for $300,000 at Barrett-Jackson's auction that April 2014 to the winning bidder Dave Flynn of Columbiana, Ohio.

The money reportedly went to the Henry Ford Health Systems, a nonprofit founded by Henry Ford in 1915, providing primary and preventative care to needy families. If you thought $300,000 is cheap for such an iconic speed machine you're right on track. Imagine the modifications on the Mustang were functional and under the hood sit a 900-hp motor the figures would've been 2 to 3 million dollars.