By Nauman Farooq
The classic Ford Mustang, as used by Steve McQueen in the movie, Bullitt, is perhaps one of the most famous movie cars of all time. Over the last 50 years, Ford has offered commemorative editions of their Mustang model, to celebrate the silver screen icon on two occasions, and now, it has just revealed a third Mustang Bullitt.
The all-new Mustang Bullitt™, which was launched this week at the 2018 North American International Auto Show, comes equipped with a manual transmission, and the gear shifter features a white cue ball shift knob as a nod to the original. An active valve performance exhaust system is standard, and retuned to give the car a signature burble.
Other standard equipment includes a 12-inch all-digital LCD instrument cluster, with a unique Bullitt™ welcome screen that starts in green with an image of the car rather than the pony. “This new Bullitt™ is, as Steve McQueen was, effortlessly cool,” said Darrell Behmer, Mustang chief designer. “As a designer, it’s my favourite Mustang – devoid of stripes, spoilers and badges. It doesn’t need to scream about anything – it’s just cool.”
Exterior paint choices are limited to Shadow Black and the classic Dark Highland Green – as worn in the movie. Other features that pay tribute to the car McQueen drove are subtle chrome accents around the grille and front windows, and classic torque thrust 19-inch aluminium wheels.
Inside and out, the vehicle uses minimal badging; only the circular faux fuel-filler cap Bullitt™ logo on the rear centre is visible on the exterior. The new Ford Mustang Bullitt™ -due out this summer- is powered by an upgraded 5.0-litre V8 engine that will deliver at least 475 hp and 569Nm of torque, pushing the new Bullitt™ to a top speed of 262 km/h.
Canadian pricing information has not yet been revealed, but don’t expect much (or any) change from $50,000.