Featured: An Authentic Eleanor Mustang Revisits The Set Of Los Angeles

An Authentic Eleanor Mustang Revisits The Set Of Los Angeles

By Petrolicious
July 10, 2017

Story and photography by Chrome Cars

When Chris Zöllner of ChromeCars left the movie theater one night in 2000, he felt like a different human being. It’s not that he was obsessed, no, he was infatuated by a car he’d just seen in Gone in 60 Seconds. Who doesn’t know the legendary duo? Nicholas Cage as master thief Memphis Raines and the legendary Custom 1967 “GT500” – nicknamed “Eleanor” – instantly generated excitement among muscle car aficionados, including Chris. From then on, he meticulously kept track of the 11 cars used in the making of the movie and discovered that three of the original so-called “Hero Cars” had survived the film shoot. He documented everything he could learn about them and their replicas.

Kai Nieklauson and Oliver Schneider are also avid fans of Eleanor. A few years ago, their acquisition of a replica—incidentally their first classic car—had spurred on the founding of ChromeCars. When Chris Zöllner joined them, the self-titled “automotive archaeologists” finally got the rare chance to acquire an original Hero Car, some 17 years after the movie’s release.

But back to film which turned the GT500 into a legend. The plot revolves around Cage’s character, who must steal 50 vehicles in a single night in order to free his brother from the clutches of a dangerous gang of stolen-car dealers. The last theft is of a GT500, “Eleanor,” for which Raines has developed a very special, quasi-erotic, affection. When he first sees the car, he gently caresses the “lady’s” curves and talks with “her.” Says Chris Zöllner of the moment when he first saw the GT500: “When Eleanor swept onto the screen, everyone in the audience gasped and I too was instantly smitten. The vehicle was clearly not an original GT500 but a completely new interpretation of an old classic.”

The movie completely energized the worldwide Mustang community. Everyone wondered where this new styling had come from. And who could copy it? “It was actually Hot Rod designer legend Steve Stanford and Chip Foose who designed Eleanor for the film,” Chris explains. After the release, interest in the vehicle was so huge that Cinema Vehicle Services (CVS), the company that built the on-screen cars, decided to produce a strictly limited edition run (rumored to be 150) of Eleanor assembly kits. Wheels, exhausts, and fiberglass add-ons were all part of the package. CVS even kept a list of all the cars and chassis numbers that ended up being outfitted with a so-called official “CVS Body Kit.”

“No other body kit than the one produced by CVS can be considered authentic,” emphasizes Chris. Not surprisingly, numerous tuners and providers tried to capitalize on the boom by producing their own replicas, some of which were even officially licensed. “But it is my understanding that only conversions made with the original CVS kit can be called Eleanor Replicas,” he adds.

CVS produced 11 vehicles for filming Gone in 60 Seconds, including various camera cars, but only the three fully-functioning GT500 still exist today. “These cars are the particularly beautiful ones and only used in filming scenes featuring the stars themselves,” says Chris. Incidentally, right after wrapping the movie, producer Jerry Bruckheimer commissioned a twelfth car on the basis of the 1967 GT500.

The cars in front of the camera were based on the normal ’67/’68 Fastback Mustangs that were typically equipped with small-block V8 engines. The three Hero Cars, though, are genuine contemporary high-performance cars. They all have a nine-inch Lincoln rear axle, a complete chassis upgrade including coilovers, high-performance wishbones, rack-and-pinion power steering, stabilizers by TCP (Total Control Products), and 351cid high-performance engines made by Ford Racing.

The only car with a big-block engine was the so-called “high-speed vehicle” that was equipped with a 390cid V8 and used for the action-packed driving scenes such as the ones set in the LA River. According to the ChromeCars experts, this car is no longer around, and in fact, the majority of the movie cars were destroyed during the filming of the legendary leap over the cop cars shot on the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Long Beach. Several others did not survive the chase scenes in the container port of Long Beach.

In the end, all that was left was a pile of wrecked GT500s and the three Hero Cars. After the film wrapped, the three were brought back to CVS to be retrofitted and readied for eventual resale. Part of the process was to replace the lateral exhaust systems because the mock-ups used for the movie had no actual function. “CVS used the BORLA dual pipe system with muffler, which was hard to obtain even back then,” says Chris. “Today, this system is a key identifier of a genuine Hero Car.” Indeed, the shape, contours, proportions, and overall appearance of the original cars are considerably more harmonious and elegant than all the replicas that’ve cropped up in their wake.

The three Hero Cars ended up being sold to collectors. One went to a famous Lamborghini dealer in the US, and another was snapped up by an anonymous private collector. “In 2013, this car was auctioned off at Mecum Auto Auctions in the US for the unbelievable sum of $1 million,” says Chris. The sale marked a milestone in the movie car market and offered important insight into the future value of genuine Eleanor Mustangs.

Chris continued to keep a close eye on the development of the Eleanor mythos, to observe auctions and find new contacts. In February, ChromeCars got the unique opportunity to put in a bid for the Eleanor Hero Car with the CVS-designated chassis number #7.

Chris recounts, “Our #7 was originally sold by CVS to a collector in the UK who held onto it until 2012. After that the trace was lost.” Now in their possession, the team remains tight-lipped about how exactly their Eleanor deal came about or how much money changed hands. “But what we can say for sure is that for now we have no intention of selling #7,” says Chris.

And why would they? It’s hard to let go of such a rare specimen. Instead, ChromeCars decided to take Eleanor back home to Los Angeles. They organized photo shoots at the original film locations and were again overwhelmed by Eleanor’s beauty. “In the end, it was because of her unique shape why we all fell in love with Eleanor,” says Chris. “If you put a genuine Hero Car next to a low-budget replica, you immediately see how big the differences actually are.” No wonder that such passion generates considerably higher prices for the CVS versions than for replicas. For Oliver, Kai and Chris, who were first smitten by this cult classic 17 years ago, a dream has come true: Eleanor #7 has arrived. 

Join the Conversation
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
33 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
JillIngram
JillIngram
2 years ago

Download DixMax Apk.  DIXMAX App is a new mobile application for Android which enables the client to keep up with their most loved destinations, organizations, occasions, gatherings and more at warp speed

kevin19
kevin19
6 years ago

this is amazing, thanks a lot for this post. You can fix olpair Kodi error by visiting this guide.

pagal hogaye
pagal hogaye
5 years ago
Reply to  kevin19

now i am using FTS 19 to play football on my android..you can try it from https://fts19apkdownload.com/fts-19-apk-obb-data-download/

JennaJ
JennaJ
6 years ago

enjoy TV series free on the Morpheus TV Android APP

josroot4
josroot4
6 years ago

Watch Free Movies and TV Shows free on Terrarium TV APP 2018.

Shai Hemraj
Shai Hemraj
5 years ago
Reply to  josroot4
brook357
brook357
6 years ago
govindsen
govindsen
6 years ago

If you want to do online transaction then These routing numbers would be the best for you to do the online transactions on the go.
aadhar card status enquiry

terra30
terra30
6 years ago

It is looking awesome – https://www.terrariumtvhd.com/

Celebrity Lifesytles
Celebrity Lifesytles
6 years ago

Terrarium TV app is primarily designed for the Android devices. So, you should not have any issues installing it on your Android smartphone or tablet. Google Play Store doesn’t feature this app for certain reasons.

Vinod Vinu
Vinod Vinu
6 years ago

thank yuou admin for sharing amazing interesting blog.i really love visiting your blog regularly.Also watch movies using Terrarium tv app free now

anonimo
anonimo
6 years ago

hermosillo sonora mexico!

Michael Gross
6 years ago

Sit back and enjoy https://youtu.be/6x6LeoKipyA

Majed Mougharbel
Majed Mougharbel
6 years ago
Reply to  Michael Gross

Thanks for sharing 🙂

sasa
sasa
6 years ago

I am very fond of cars. I love to watch car movies on my android. I am a great fan of fast & furious series and I watched this movies on terrarium tv app (https://terrariumtvforpc.com/). We can watch more movies on terrarium tv app for free of cost.

Dave
Dave
7 years ago

Joe if you ever visit Sydney Australia you are welcome to have a drive of my 67 Eleanor which I have had since 2002 made from the cinema vehicle kits from the movie keep your dream alive and strive to get your own one day..

Joe Englert
Joe Englert
7 years ago

This has been by far my dream car before I even seen the movie. Once Gone in 60 seconds came out iv seen it to many times to count. Just to look at sweet Eleanor and praise how beautiful she is. Such a one of a kind car that would make me feel like the luckiest guy and forever life changing. I don’t think I have drooled so much in my life over a car or anything else that’s just a material object. Defiantly don’t sell the car. Money comes and goes but something so majestic as Eleanor is something to praise and be so honored to have and cherish. I think I’m actually in love with this car if that is even possible haha. Got to love it, I had a 08′ Shelby that I worked so hard for but had to give up after my parents passed away the last two years in two separate horrific tragedies. I miss them and my sweet Shelby. But iv learned life is short so live it up and dreaming big such as owning your dream car of Eleanor is something no one can take away from you and could help take your mind off of anything that seems to hold you back. #Eleanor #GT500 #maybeoneday #livelifefully

Zigax
Zigax
7 years ago

I am crazy about Cars. I love watching Car movies. The best destination to find good movies of cars is Terrarium tv (https://terrariumtvpro.com) This is one of the best movie apps available for Android devices. We can watch many movies on this app.

Dave
Dave
7 years ago

I find that all people who seem to criticise these Eleanor movie cars either do not own one or own a genuine 67 gt500 mustang and are annoyed that people walk past there genuine gt500 to look at the movie Eleanor. Each to there own!

David Akers
David Akers
7 years ago

I think the remake film is a crime against humanity. The original film was more believable and a better story line, in my opinion… Then there’s the whole Nicolas Cage thing….

SFM5
SFM5
7 years ago

Whether you like the Eleanor cars or not is a matter of personal taste and an opinion. which I would try not to judge anyone for. The fact is that these cars do not appear in the Shelby World Registry, and are not recognized by SAAC, who publishes the registry. For some reason these cars attract a lot of controversy on social media, but it is important to separate facts & opinions. I don’t blame Shelby American since they are entitled to protect their brand – just the same as if Jerry Bruckheimer commissioned his own version of a Rolex watch for a movie and then tried to market them.

I don’t know if Lewis Hamilton does own one, but I do know he bought an original unrestored 427 Cobra from one of my Shelby friends about 5 years ago and paid a load of money for it.

Markus
Markus
7 years ago

Hi Guys, in the film itself is called “Eleanor” as Shelby, which is fact. It goes in the article itself around the film and the myth created with this “Shelby GT500 – Eleanor”. Also it is so clear and correct in the article: “producer Jerry Bruckheimer commissioned a twelfth car on the basis of the 1967 Shelby GT500. The cars used in the film were based on the normal 67/68 Fastback Mustangs” (!). So I think the article was completely correct. In my opinion, petrolicious had no reason to delete the “Shelby” from the article.
greetings…

GuitarSlinger
GuitarSlinger
7 years ago
Reply to  Markus

No reason ? So perpetuating a Hollywood derived myth is now suddenly a good thing . Christmas .. with attitudes like that is it any wonder an idiot like Trump got elected ?

FYI gumshoe … Bruckheimer had nothing to do with the design nor the influences on the ‘ Eleanors ‘ That was all down to Steve Stanford . Try reading the history rather than believing the Hollywood myth

GuitarSlinger
GuitarSlinger
7 years ago
Reply to  Markus

Oh … and by the way Zippy … seeing as how Bruckheimer never paid either Ford nor Carroll Sheby for the rights to use the name ” Shelby ” or GT500 in the film(s).. a controversy/litigation that continues to this day I might add … that in itself negates using the word Shelby or GT500 when describing the Eleanors other than to say they were mildly influenced by the Shelby GT500 .

So thank again son.. cause y’alls dead wrong . On the dates as well . All the Eleanors were built on 67’s or repop 67’s … not 68’s

Brian
Brian
7 years ago

Surprised that a site as good as Petrolicious would keep calling these “Shelbys”. They are gorgeous, and the article is very informative, but these are not Shelbys.

GuitarSlinger
GuitarSlinger
7 years ago
Reply to  Brian

Yeah … somebody else ‘ gets it ‘ as well !

Oh well … let the ignorant masses revel in their myth … its probably the only thing they’ve got keeping their meaningless little existence going

JB21
JB21
7 years ago

Lewis Hamilton drives one of those when he’s in California. It is a nice looking car, looks more modern than the current Mustang in some ways.

GuitarSlinger
GuitarSlinger
7 years ago
Reply to  JB21

Pure unadulterated myth !

JB21
JB21
7 years ago
Reply to  JB21

comment image

Jayrdee
Jayrdee
7 years ago

“Are you alright?”

“I think so”

“Are you sure? ‘Cause you just went through a wall”

GuitarSlinger
GuitarSlinger
7 years ago

1) None of the Eleanor’s are Shelby’s nor do they resemble an authentic Shelby GT500 . . They customs plain and simple it film cars or replicas built upon either standard Mustangs customized to the ‘ Eleanore GT500 ‘ aesthetic .. or complete new frame up Eleanore builds …. but not a single one was ever built on a genuine Shelby … nor would they ever of been in light of current Shelby prices …especially GT500’s

2) But having said that putting the record and the facts ( versus the current myth of the month ) … the ‘ Eleanore ‘ aesthetic is perhaps the tastiest Mustang custom every created . Fully justifying in my opinion the multiple knock offs and recreations

3) Give thanks to iconic automotive designer Steve Stanford;

https://www.pinterest.com/leadfootlarry/steve-stanford-designs/

… for creating / designing the Eleanor 2.0 built on a 67 fastback . Suffice it to say when it comes to Steve Stanford … icon is an understatement … freaking genius coming a little closer

6point3
6point3
7 years ago
Reply to  GuitarSlinger

This comment is a PIA to read. If the readers gives it enough effort (like I do) trying to read it, then the writer should have enough decency to try and write it in a normal understandable fashion.
(English with proper spelling, grammar and punctuation…..).
Or don’t bother at all.

GuitarSlinger
GuitarSlinger
7 years ago
Reply to  GuitarSlinger

Mr Trosch – And since when did you suddenly become the arbiter of all things grammar , spelling and punctuation ? Been published lately ? ( I have ) Been asked to write for any prominent websites and print magazine recently ( again .. I have ) Incapable of comprehending contemporary literary punctuation etc e.g. Tom Wolf Thomas Mann etc ? Unable to understand that with no editing capabilities and the vagaries of online posting that the occasional spelling error ( of which there are none here ) may occur ?

Suffice it to say … you’re entitled to your erroneous opinions … and more than welcome to express them … just don’t go trying to pass off opinions … as fact .

Petrolicious Newsletter