The aftermarket just scored a major legal victory. After a long court battle, three judges ruled that Eleanor, the Ford Mustang that starred in the Gone in 60 Seconds movie franchise, is a prop rather than a character and can’t be protected by copyright law. The ruling opens the door to replicas, but it could be challenged.
In a 21-page ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit settled a dispute between Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc. and Denice Halicki. She’s the widow of H.B. Halicki, who wrote, directed, and starred in the original Gone in 60 Seconds movie released in 1974. He died in 1989 while filming a sequel called Gone in 60 Seconds 2, which remained unfinished, so he wasn’t involved in the remake that was released in 2000.
Eleanor has evolved during its career. Early on, it was a 1971 Mustang Sportsroof finished in yellow. Fans of the original cult-classic ’74 film know this version, but if you say Eleanor Mustang to car enthusiasts, the car from the widely known Nick Cage reboot is what they will think of. And that’s the car at the center of the controversy. Modified by Chip Foose, it’s a 1967 Fastback finished in silver with black stripes. It features a pair of front-mounted auxiliary lights and a distinctive side-exit exhaust system, among other visual updates.
We’ve seen countless Eleanor replicas emerge out of the aftermarket over the past 25 years; It’s one of the most famous movie cars in recent memory. Some are officially licensed and look like the real thing, down to the red “go, baby, go” button on the shift knob. Others are Eleanor-inspired at best. Halicki’s lawyers argued she owns the rights to Eleanor’s design, which would make the unofficial replicas illegal.
This isn’t the first time a movie car has found itself in the middle of a legal battle. In September 2015, an appeals court decided that DC Comics “owned a copyright interest” in the Batmobile and ordered Mark Towle, the owner of California-based shop Gotham Garage, to stop building and selling replicas of it. This landmark case was cited as an important reference point in the lawsuit opposing Shelby and Halicki.
What makes the Batmobile a character and Eleanor a prop? Good question. According to the ruling, the Mustang failed what’s now known as the Towle Test. It doesn’t have conceptual qualities, it doesn’t have consistent traits, and it’s not especially distinctive. Reading between the legal lines suggests that the court sees Eleanor as a souped-up Mustang that could have been replaced by, say, a first-generation Chevrolet Camaro. In contrast, we can’t imagine seeing Batman drive around in a Camaro instead of the Batmobile.
Neither party has commented on the ruling. Shelby seemingly stands out as the main beneficiary, and we wouldn’t be surprised if it comes out with an Eleanor-inspired model in the not-too-distant future. Other manufacturers and tuners could take advantage of the ruling as well. But, on a secondary level, the court’s decision means that anyone—including you!—can restore an old Mustang into a replica of Eleanor and take it to Cars and Coffee without worrying about getting sued. The legal fight might not be over, though.
It started in 2004, when Halicki sued a shop named Unique Performance that had teamed up with Shelby to build a GT500 that featured Eleanor-inspired styling cues. The case was thrown out. Halicki sued Shelby and its partners over allegations of copyright infringement in 2008 and won the case. Shelby sued back in 2022, and the court ended up overturning the earlier ruling. Halicki’s claim that Eleanor was a character in Gone in 60 Seconds was “an invention of overzealous advocacy,” according to the ruling. Halicki appealed in February 2023, and the verdict finally fell in 2025. She’s also sued other companies for the same reason.
You can circumvent the legal quagmire by putting one of the real movie cars in your garage. Finding one is easier said than done, however, and they’re stunningly expensive. In 2020, Mecum Auctions sold one of the 11 cars that were built to star in Gone in 60 Seconds for $852,500, excluding auction fees.
This is splitting hairs.
Could a Fiero Ferrari 308 be a prop since it was on Magnum PI and you could just be copying his car as a show prop?
What about the General Lee Or the Ghost Buster wagon and The BTF DeLorean. In a way they play a part in the show or movie but also they are just cars.
This is a fight only the lawyers will win.
The more I think about this the repo cars are not the greatest danger but you need to protect the image for things like Diecast and toy sales. that is where often the money is made or lost.
The silliest of lawsuits over this “eleanor” car. It would be nice to have it over someday. I fear it will still be going on in another round.
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