You Can Now Build Your Own 'Eleanor' Mustang Without Fear Of Being Sued

After decades of courtroom battles, the U.S. Court of Appeals has officially, and finally, ruled that the famous Eleanor Ford Mustang from "Gone in 60 Seconds" is not protected by copyright. What does this mean for car guys and gals? It means that they can now create their own replicas of Eleanor without fear of being sued by Denice Halicki, the widow of the original film's creator, and sole owner of all merchandising and intellectual property rights to Eleanor.

The dispute centered around whether Eleanor could be considered a character under copyright law. If the car could be considered as such, then any unauthorized reproductions would be considered illegal. The court applied something called the Towle test, which had previously been used in the 2015 Batmobile case. In that instance, the ruling concluded the Batmobile was indeed a protectable character, down to the fact that it had distinctive traits and a level of autonomy.

However, in the case of Eleanor, three judges found that — unlike the Batmobile, which would cost a fortune to build in real life anyway, and other car-based characters like Herbie — Eleanor didn't meet the same criteria. It was determined that the Mustang lacked anthropomorphic qualities, consistent personality traits, and uniquely distinctive features, which meant it could not legally qualify as a character. The judge argued that Eleanor better fit the description of a prop. The ruling puts to bed the 20-year dispute between Denice Halicki and the Shelby group. The former had long argued that Eleanor deserved protection as a character, but ultimately, the courts disagreed.

In the original "Gone in 60 Seconds", Eleanor was a 1971 Ford Mustang Sportsroof, but it's the later 2000 remake starring Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie that debuted the more popular and well-remembered Dupont Pepper Gray 1967 Shelby GT500. Well, that's what Eleanor looked like, at least; in reality, none of the 11 Eleanors built for the film were true Shelbys. Cutting those up would be considered sacrilege, and it would cost heaps too, so the production team used 1967 Mustang Fastbacks modified with Shelby-inspired parts instead.

Among those styling tweaks were fender flares, custom bumpers, different headlight bezels, and side-exit exhausts. Under the arches sat 17-inch Cobra-style wheels, four-wheel disc brakes, and coilovers that would've helped the cars handle better and look more aggressive. While most were equipped with automatic transmissions, one featured a Tremec five-speed manual. Only three were fully functional, with the hero car (typically seen in promotional shots) sporting a powerful 351-CI V8, MSD ignition, an Edelbrock intake, a Magnaflow exhaust, NOS system, and that aforementioned five-speed manual with a Hurst shifter and the iconic "Go Baby Go" button.

While making your own Eleanor was risky business over the last 20 years, you could've bought a proper movie Eleanor on two separate occasions. Deep pockets were required, though: The hero car sold for $1 million at auction in 2013, and another movie Eleanor sold for $852,000 in 2020. Thankfully, the U.S. Court of Appeals' ruling means anyone can now build a tribute to this iconic Mustang without fear of being dragged into a courtroom.