Big-screen car chases may well be two-a-penny, but there is one that has gone down in cinematic history as the quintessential pursuit: Steve McQueen’s Ford Mustang GT 390 chasing a Dodge Charger R/T through the hilly streets of San Francisco in the Academy Award-winning Bullitt (1968).

Released 50 years ago (17 October), the film has achieved cult status in the past half century, with the Mustang earning the right to be called an icon. To celebrate this milestone, the non-profit orgsnisation Drive Toward a Cure has partnered with one of the world’s most established producers of motorsports chronographs BRM, and fine artist Nicolas Hunziker, to create a unique timepiece that honour the movie and, at the same time raise funds for Parkinson’s disease research and care.

Based in Paris, BRM’s Bernard Richards and his team created their first timepiece in 2003 and have since received attention worldwide from within the racing industry and beyond. A brand mostly known by fans of extreme sports, preferably of the motorised variety, Each new BRM design reflects the brand’s relationship with motorsport. with hundreds of riders and drivers already patronising the brand.

A fourth-generation artist and great-nephew of Thailand’s first Grand-Prix motor racing driver Prince Bira of Siam, Nicolas Hunziker’s work is inspired by his automotive and racing passions. His bold graphic style of painting is instantly recognisable and his work is I demand for magazines, posters, clothing, films, and as well as from individual collectors.

Between now and January 2019, Drive Toward a Cure will be selling raffling tickets for $25 each, with all proceeds being donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation in the name of Robert E. Kiernan Jr. Robert, who passed away in 2014, was the father of the Bullitt Mustang’s current owner Nashville horse farmer Sean Kiernan.

The founder of Drive Toward a Cure, Deb Pollack says: “Our mission is to broaden the awareness of and raise funds for Parkinson’s disease by blending cars and camaraderie,” said Deb Pollack, founder of Drive Toward a Cure.  “When Sean and I first met, we realized we had more in common than cars – as we both had struggled through the loss of a parent to Parkinson’s Disease.  Fortunately, the timing of the attention his car was receiving this particular year offered a perfect pathway to gain the further attention this disease deserved.”

Pollack next recruited Frederic Gasser, CEO of the America’s for BRM Chronographes, and Hunziker, to create this one-of-a-kind timepiece. Raffle tickets can be bought online at www.drivetowardacure.org or through a Drive Toward a Cure volunteer and the winner of the watch – valued at $35,000 – will be announced by Sean Kiernan during the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California, where the original Bullitt car will be displayed on 27 January 2019.  By this time, Pollack hopes to have sold a synbollic 1,968 tickets.