Ford Mustang Eleanor

'Eleanor' is the trademarked name given to a 1971 Ford Mustang (redressed as a 1973) for its role in the 1974 film Gone in 60 Seconds. "Eleanor" is the only Ford Mustang in history to receive star title credit in a movie.

California based automobile scrap-dealer H.B. "Toby" Halicki created, wrote and directed the film. As a businessman with interests in property, he also trademarked the terms "Gone in 60 Seconds" and "Eleanor". Two "Eleanors" were created for use in the movie: one was heavily modified and used for stunt driving, one was used in the external "beauty shots" the other for hanging cameras on for shots of Toby behind the wheel or external driver point of view footage. All the Mustangs (none were Mach 1s as many people believe) were bought new in 1971 but it was three years before Halicki could raise sufficient funds to start filming so all three Mustangs were modified to resemble 1973 model year cars.

The heavily modified car required 250 hours labor by businessman and film creator H. B. Halicki before it was ready for the cameras. It was fitted with a NASCAR roll cage, the transmission was chained in. An adjustable camera was mounted in the back seat to record from the internal “driver's point of view”. Other safety modifications included a heavy duty double strength Simpson shoulder harness and seat belt and deadbolt door locks.

The main car survived despite two serious incidents during filming. The first occurred when another driver overshot his mark, clipped "Eleanor" in the rear and sent it careening into a steel light pole standard in excess of 100 mph, and caved the left front fender in. After two hours of repairs, filming resumed. The second occurred after an impressive 128-foot jump in which the car soars over 30 feet. “Eleanor” survived, despite the rough landing. Halicki was injured in both incidents.

Eleanor was first placed at Los Angeles International Airport by the crew, so that Toby Halicki can try and steal her.

Eleanor was earlier "stolen" from 18504 Mariposa which was Vacek's address at the time.

Much of the crowd at the gas station where Harold Smith is pulled over after the night-time Torrance chase were part of a real biker gang, who verbally abused the police officers "arresting" the actor and demanding they leave him alone. Being an independent production, the film used real civilians who happened to be wherever they were filming. It was the police officers' bad luck that at the gas station there was a real biker gang filling up.

Eleanor was later placed in a warehouse of 48 exotic cars, all "stolen" in the movie.

When Pumpkin tells Maindrian that they have to give Eleanor back because the car is not insured, Maindrian reads the owner's address from a newspaper – 18511 Mariposa, Gardena. This was in fact director/star H.B. Halicki's own real home address at the time.

According to people on the set, Halicki missed a mark and caused "Eleanor" to hit a real telephone pole at 100 mph. The first thing that Halicki was quoted as saying when he regained consciousness was "Did we get coverage?"

Halicki compacted ten vertebrae performing the "big jump" in the Mustang at the end of the movie, which reached 30 feet high and cleared 128 feet. Fortunately the injury was not very serious, although according to director of photography Jack Vacek, Halicki never walked the same again.

After his death producing Gone in 60 Seconds in 1989, and recent marriage to Denice Halicki, there were a number of legal challenges to the Halicki estate. After seven trials, in 1994, the court released Halicki's films and the associated copyrights to Halicki Films, owned by Denice Halicki.

In 1995, Denice Halicki licensed the remake rights from her late husband; H.B. Halicki's 1974 Gone in 60 Seconds with Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer to make a remake Gone in 60 Seconds. Both the 1974 and the 2000 remake was about a crew of thieves getting an order to steal 48/50 cars and get them to the Long Beach docks. Eleanor was the leading lady with her amazing chase scene. Filming began in 1999, with Denice as Executive Producer. The movie premiered on June 5, 2000.

The popularity of the second film revived the popularity of "Eleanor." A number of car shops started to produce "Eleanor" (custom Fastback Mustang) tagged replicas.

Carroll Shelby's never claimed in the Court that he owen the Eleanor Rights to the Look or Name, No Shelby's claim was that HPC/Disney owned the Eleanor Rights to the Look or Name and not Halicki. But the truth came out when the appeals court reversed the lower court, Halicki did own the Eleanor Rights not HPC/Disney and or Carroll Shelby. In 2008, an appeals court reversed a lower court ruling and allowed Halicki to pursue copyright and trademark claims against Carroll Shelby, who had been selling "Eleanor" replicas.

One of the actual "Eleanor" cars that was used in the 2000 movie sold at the Mecum auction in Indianapolis on May 18, 2013 for $1,000,000 USD.