In 1974 an independent movie titled “Gone in 60 Seconds” lit up Hollywood with its explosive, and authentic car chases and crashes. In 2000 Touchstone Pictures with the help of Jerry Bruckheimer remade Gone in 60 Seconds with star Nicolas Cage headlining. But the real show stealer was the Shelby GT500 Mustang nicknamed “Eleanor” by Cage and his band of thieves.

Eleanor kickstarted an automotive sub-cult devoted to this Chip Foose-designed Mustang masterpiece, and in May the original “hero” car used for all of the film’s close-ups and glamor shots will go up for grabs in Mecum’s annual Spring Classic Auction.

Hollywood films typically allocate several versions of the same car for different uses. For Eleanor there were cars built for the chase scene, cars built specifically to crash, so on and so forth, we’ve heard varying accounts of anywhere from six to nine cars built total for the film, all with varying engine and trans combinations. But there was only one “hero” car, the car that was featured front and center on posters, in movie trailers, and for all the close-up shots, and also one of the few to survive the filming.

Indeed, this is the genuine auction, lot S135, the car Nic Cage himself drove in the movie, adding some star power to this auction. Speaking of power, the hero Eleanor is powered by a 400 horsepower 351W engine, packs 4-wheel disc brakes, a rack-and-pinion steering system, and other performance improvements. This car has been offered for sale before for around $350,000, but how much will bidding drive the price up or down?