An Iconic Muscle Car Is Finally Available to the Public After Years of Setbacks

Be it Steve McQueen in Bullitt or Keanu Reeves in John Wick, some of Hollywood’s hottest action stars have made their mark on the Ford Mustang. However, in the world of iconic movie cars, there are few vehicles that are as instantly recognizable as the 1967 GT500 from the 2000 remake of Gone in 60 Seconds. 

With Nicolas Cage at the wheel as car thief Memphis Raines, the infamous Eleanor Mustang cut quite the figure. Painted in a muted shade of Dupont Pepper Gray, it boasted eye-catching mods like fender flares, side-exit exhaust and, of course, nitrous injection. 

As is the case with most vehicles that have enjoyed time on the silver screen, the aftermarket abounds with replicas. However, for many years, the legality of such tributes was questionable at best. Thanks to a recent court verdict, you can now snag an Eleanor without remorse.

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Eleanor uncertainty

Just a little over a month ago, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit released a 21-page ruling that opened the floodgates for the creation of Eleanor Mustang replicas.

As the widow of the creator of the 1973 Gone in 60 Seconds film, Denice Halicki had initially sued Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc. in 2008 for alleged copyright infringement due to the creation of some conspicuously Eleanor-like GT500s. 

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At the time, the court ruled in her favor, though Shelby later responded with a countersuit in 2022. The court then deemed that Halicki’s claim of Eleanor being a ‘character’ in Gone in 60 Seconds was “an invention of overzealous advocacy” caused by “factual inaccuracies,” reversing course and overturning the previous verdict.

Following her 2023 appeal, the ruling most recently determined that Eleanor failed to pass the Towle test — the Mustang wasn’t distinctive enough to be considered anything more than a prop.

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Gone again, on again

In response to the most recent ruling, a company by the name of Cinema Vehicle Services has announced that it will be producing a limited run of 25 Eleanor: Gone Again replicas as a tribute to the film’s 25th anniversary.

Having built the stunt cars used in the making of the 2000 Gone in 60 Seconds film, it goes without saying that CVS knows a thing or two about what’s required of an authentic Eleanor Mustang.

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As part of the Gone Again project, Cinema Vehicle Services says that each Eleanor tribute will be built around a 1967 Mustang donor car that has been “restored to the highest standards and updated with components as used on the original film cars.” So, along with some Total Control Products suspension and a set of Wilwood brakes, they’re also set to feature bodywork based on the original design.

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However, in offering these Mustangs as built-to-order creations, Cinema Vehicle Services will work with customers to cater each car to their personal preferences.

As such, even though features like a 480-horsepower Coyote V8 and a Tremec 5-speed manual are offered as standard fare, potent options like an 875-horsepower Aluminator V8 and up-spec 6-piston brakes are also available to take performance to even greater heights.

Pricing and availability

Given the extent of the work that goes into each Gone Again Mustang, an Eleanor replica isn’t going to come cheap. The base price for a build starts at $500,000, and the available upgrades can quickly bring that figure to just under $550,000.

Still, when you consider that each Gone Again Mustang will come with a signed certificate of authenticity, it’s the next best thing to getting one of the hero cars from Gone in 60 Seconds. Mecum sold one for $852,500 in 2020, so you’d need even deeper pockets (or Memphis-worthy driving skills) to land one in your garage.

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Gone Again Eleanor Mustang

• Starts at $500,000

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