ford's mustang bullitt celebrates the 1968 movie car

the special edition ford ‘mustang bullitt’ offers 481 ps, while paying homage to the 1968 movie car with an effortlessly cool appearance and is due out this summer. the original 1968 ‘mustang GT’ fastback that starred alongside steve mcqueen in the award-winning movie ‘bullitt’, also drove onto the stage at NAIAS, ending a 40-year mystery about the film car’s whereabouts.

all images © ford

the ford ‘mustang bullitt’ is powered by an upgraded 5.0-liter V8 engine that will deliver at least 481 hp and 569 Nm of torque, pushing the sports car to a top speed of 262 km/h  (63 mph). the ‘bullitt’ 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 refinements include a 12-inch digital LCD instrument cluster, with a unique ‘bullitt’ welcome screen that starts in green with an image of the car rather than the pony.

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.

‘this new bullitt is, as steve mcqueen was, effortlessly cool’, comments darrell behmer, mustang chief designer. he continues, ‘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.’