Bullitt Mustangs: Ford’s silver-screen icons

By Charlie Calderwood

| 22 Feb 2024

Classic & Sports Car – Bullitt Mustangs: Ford’s silver-screen icon

A believable car for a cash-strapped cop was Steve McQueen’s vision for his automotive co-star in Bullitt.

A brand-new big-block Ford might not have been the obvious answer, but Warner Brothers’ deal with the Blue Oval meant a pair of new Highland Green 1968 Mustangs was it nonetheless.

McQueen’s genius was how he turned the car into the gritty bruiser that perfectly matched the ground-breaking chase in which it starred.

So much so that Ford has since attempted to copy his recipe on three separate occasions.

How do three Bullitt special editions stack up against a 1968 Ford Mustang film-car replica?

No popstar soundtrack, real roads and natural lighting separated Bullitt’s brilliant 10 mins 53 secs car chase from the contrived, overproduced sequences that dominated mid-century cinema when it first hit theatres 55 years ago.

We all know about the green Volkswagen Beetle that is in the background almost constantly, and the left turn that appears twice, but beyond these production conveniences, the pursuit is raw, real and authentic.

And you could use the same words to describe Lieutenant Bullitt’s Mustang.

The Ford Mustang in Highland Green is synonymous with the 1968 thriller Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen – this is a replica of the original film car

Racing driver and car-constructor Max Balchowsky tweaked the Fords mechanically, fettling the 390cu in engines and otherwise making them into effective stunt cars, but it was McQueen who led the Mustangs’ aesthetic direction.

The famous paint colour, Highland Green, is unfussy and brooding, but avoided the obvious villainy of black that would be reserved for the antagonist’s Dodge Charger.

That unflashy seriousness was doubled down with the tail-light trim, petrol-cap centre and sill moulding all painted in dark green or black.

The Mustang’s American Racing Torq Thrust D wheels were actually designed for the Chevrolet Corvette

The foglights, reverse lights and other pieces of unnecessary trim were removed or painted over, while the grille was replaced with a simple mesh panel.

Ford was no doubt thrilled to see the Mustang badge removed…

Similarly, the door mirror was taken off, too, although in many shots an aftermarket catalogue part, a round Yankee Metal Products mirror, appears, once again painted dark green.

‘If you lean on the throttle too heavily in first, second or even third, the rear end will start to squirm away’

It’s just one of the ways in which the car evolved during filming.

Interior shots also show a large illuminating flasher on the end of the indicator stalk after McQueen ruined a take too many by leaving the indicator on.

David Redhead’s 1968 Mustang has all of these features and more.

Few would argue against it being the best Bullitt Mustang replica in the UK, and one of the most exacting in the world.

The Bullitt Ford Mustang’s door mirror was removed for filming, but an aftermarket item appears in some shots – as replicated on this car

It’s correct even down to the almost imperceptible details, such as the EFFPI three-spoke steering wheel and the hen’s-teeth American Racing Torq Thrust D wheels, which were actually designed for the Corvette and feature slightly altered ‘Eagle’s Beak’-shaped spokes.

Very few were made in the Mustang’s bolt pattern (the Ford didn’t require the altered shape to fit), but this car has a set.

It’s relatively easy in its controls, in classic American fashion – nothing overly heavy or uncomfortable here – but if you lean on the throttle pedal too heavily in first, second or third gear, the rear end will start to squirm away; on damp roads even fourth.

Ford Mustangs came with a top-tinted windscreen, but film cars had clear glass so that Steve McQueen could be seen driving

So, too, the steering, which, being fairly low-geared and matched to a relatively large wheel, has to be attacked with gusto to get the Mustang turning with any verve.

Although it’s simple enough to drive gently, you’ve got to grab it by its scruff to get a truly sporty experience from the ’68.

It rewards confidence – as long as you don’t overestimate the available grip at the rear.

Certainly, David’s car makes it clear why the Bullitt Mustang has been one of the most replicated of all movie cars.

The Ford Mustang’s wood-effect dashboard

Where most first-generation pony cars are kept chrome-laden and bedecked in glossy paint like a roadgoing jukebox, this is a more serious yet utterly unpretentious-looking Mustang.

It’s Steve McQueen’s anti-hero cool in automotive form.

By January 2000 the 1968 Mustang had long come out of its difficult ‘banger’ phase, the car by then collectible and well worth restoring.

The Ford Mustang’s Shelby gearknob tilts towards the driver

A good proportion of those were being rebuilt to movie spec.

That didn’t go unnoticed, and Ford displayed a one-off, fourth-generation SN-95 Mustang Bullitt tribute at the LA Auto Show.

Painted Highland Green, with Torq Thrust-style wheels, a mesh front end and a functional bonnet scoop, it was by far Ford’s most popular display at the show.

Mustang customisation manager Scott Hoag realised it was exactly what he needed to keep the SN-95 selling as the car entered its final years.

Ford’s ‘FE’ V8 makes 325bhp in the Mustang

A production version arrived just over a year later, in April 2001, but the mesh grille and functional bonnet scoop bit the dust in the face of budget constraints.

Ford wasn’t willing to crash-test a new front end or tool up for a new bonnet.

Hoag was convinced that, for the enthusiast audience to take the model seriously, it needed to be more than a ‘stickers and stripes’ special edition.

This Mustang’s indicator stalk is illuminated, referencing shots in the film that show McQueen left it running

Both the C-pillar and rear quarter-panel gained extra trim pieces evoking the 1968 fastback, while inside the retro-style leather seats do a remarkably good impression of a 1960s ribbed seat.

It kept the 17in Torq Thrust-style alloys, too, although this was a happy coincidence because Ford was already introducing the option on the premium GT model for the 2001 model year, before the idea of the Mustang Bullitt had even come about.

The new model was perfectly timed, not only because the teenagers who had watched Bullitt in the cinemas in period were by then in their wealthy middle age, but also because it caught the start of the 1960s retro-styling wave: BMW’s MINI and the Chrysler PT Cruiser were released the same year.

The 2001 Ford Mustang Bullitt’s dated underpinnings – which can be traced back to the 1978 Ford Fairmont – lend it an old-school feel, with soft suspension and body roll to match

You might think all of the new Mustang Bullitts would be dark green, but, in a country where 40% of the population believe in UFOs, Ford needed to take seriously the US market’s superstitious rejection of green cars.

Somewhat ridiculously, blue and black were also available – although thankfully more than half the cars built were in Dark Highland Green.

For all the aesthetic changes, the upgrades were more than skin deep.

The 2001 Ford Mustang’s vertical tail-lights echo the 1968 car

Key to the homage to Bullitt was to replicate the movie car’s sound.

That’s a touch ironic, because for the chase in the film, the engine note of the Mustang is dubbed over with that of a race-spec Ford V8, complete with double-declutching.

Only during low-speed driving is the Mustang’s true engine note heard.

Nonetheless, Ford fitted the 2001 Bullitt with a special cast-aluminium intake and a new exhaust system that does give a more classic-sounding note, particularly in terms of induction noise.

The Ford Mustang Bullitt of 2001 has a hearty 4.6-litre V8 and makes 265bhp

The Bullitt also received slightly firmer and lower suspension, as well as Brembo disc brakes up front.

Despite those tweaks, however, it is still a bit of a truck to drive. Close to the 1968 car, you could say.

The chassis never quite settles underneath you, and the track feels too narrow for the car.

There’s a sense of it being on its tiptoes, with all the roll that brings via springs that are still very soft.

Inside, the 2001 Ford Mustang Bullitt’s retro, ribbed sports seats complete the look

The long-throw gearshift is old-school, too, transmitting vibration from the engine bay and with a slightly off-centre shift pattern.

Combine that with a slow steering rack and a heavy clutch, and once again it demands real manhandling to drive with spirit.

The engine, though, is a peach.

It has super-sharp throttle response like the best classic V8s, pulls the slightly flimsy-feeling body with ease and always emits a delightful snarl.

Ford’s production-ready Mustang Bullitt sported a non-functional bonnet scoop, unlike the concept car displayed at the 2000 LA Auto Show

It’s only seven years older than the next Mustang Bullitt, of 2008, yet the 2001 car feels closer to the 1968 incarnation than it does to its successor.

Not in its plastic-clad interior, perhaps, but in its raw chassis and raucous engine – a reminder that the model was based on the ‘Fox’ platform first introduced in 1978’s Ford Fairmont, just five years after the first-generation Mustang went off sale.

If the ’01 car is a new body on an old platform, the 2008 Mustang Bullitt is quite the opposite.

The Ford Mustang of 2008 righted two wrongs of the 2001 edition, with a mesh grille at the front and the pony badge removed

Ford went all-in on the model’s retro appeal for 2005’s fifth-generation S197 ’Stang.

You need look no further for evidence of 21st-century gerontocracy than the youth car of the 1960s transforming into the go-to midlife-crisis car of the 2000s.

The silhouette, the grille, the fastback roof and the rear fascia all clearly drew from the ’68 fastback, but it’s hard to deny that a very handsome car was created by this dive into the past.

It also teed up the perfect basis for a Bullitt-edition Mustang.

The 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt’s V8 has two intake and one exhaust valve per cylinder

This time around, Ford had the film’s 40th anniversary to justify the model’s timing and, more importantly, a proof of concept in the previous-generation Mustang Bullitt, which posted strong sales in its short production run.

Much of the recipe was the same: Highland Green paint (or black for the superstitious), classic Torq Thrust-style dark alloy wheels, firmed-up suspension and a slight boost in power thanks to a modified intake and exhaust system.

The model righted the biggest wrong of the 2001 car, too, with a mesh grille at the front and the pony badge removed.

The 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt’s aluminium dash panel is a change from the original car’s wood-effect item

Ford made much more of the interior in the new car, with bright aluminium lifting the black-plastic cabin of the GT and recalling the chrome of the ’60s.

The turned-aluminium dash panel is a slightly odd choice, though, given that the movie car had a wood-effect finish, but it – and shining highlights on the air vents, gauges and gearknob – make for a more special-feeling interior than the 2001 car.

Yet the seats, black-leather versions of those from the contemporary Shelby GT500, are supportive and comfy, but hardly as evocative as the ribbed leather of its predecessor.

Ford’s Mustang Bullitt from 2008 is packed with retro design cues

There’s nothing fancy about how the 2008 Bullitt drives, but it’s sporty and biddable, even on the narrow Buckinghamshire roads around High Wycombe.

The steering, clutch and gearshift are all genuinely rewarding rather than things to be wrestled with, and while that live rear axle still bounces around on poor surfaces like the Cooler King’s baseball in that other legendary Steve McQueen epic, The Great Escape, much firmer suspension allows it to corner flat and with greater composure.

The V8 doesn’t have quite the responsiveness of the earlier car, and its sound is slightly more modern, but there’s still an induction roar not found in the standard GT, thanks to the trick intake.

The Ford Mustang Bullitt of 2019 was a serious sports-car rival for Europe

If 315bhp doesn’t sound huge in the context of today’s muscle cars, here it’s the perfect amount: playful, but without the sense the rear will break away at a moment’s notice.

The 2019 Mustang Bullitt, however, is a step-change more serious.

The car was launched to celebrate the film’s 50th anniversary, but was released so late into 2018 that it was a 2019 model-year car.

The Ford’s classic-look rims are a reincarnation of the original Torq Thrust D wheels

By this third edition, the Bullitt blueprint has become predictable: dark green (or black) paint, mesh grille, retro rims, firmer suspension and slightly more power with an emphasis on improving the sound of the V8.

It’s got a unique Bullitt badge on the rear and some nice details in the interior, although it does feel that, but for tangible aesthetic differences, the package has been watered down over time.

While there are no extra body parts, such as the 2001 car’s side scoops, the latest Bullitt is special in Europe for finally providing the S550 Mustang with the GT Performance Package that had previously been denied this side of the Atlantic since the model arrived in 2015.

The Ford Mustang Bullitt from 2019 breathes freely via an open air filter under the bonnet

Combined with a bump in capacity to 5 litres, and with the benefit of direct fuel injection, it means that power has increased by nearly 50% in the 10 years since the previous Mustang Bullitt: European-spec cars make 453bhp.

It’s a much more capable car, therefore, and it corners with a firmness and lack of roll close to European sports cars.

The six-piston Brembo brakes stop the Mustang with neck-wrenching force, too.

Recaro seats were a Bullitt-model first in the 2019 edition, which was also offered with a manual gearbox only

It’s slightly less playful for all of that extra ability, but it hangs on to corners so tightly that you’ll only be spinning the wheels at buttock-clenching speeds in the dry.

There’s no doubt that McQueen would have chosen the 2019 Mustang Bullitt if he had the choice between the three cars that would emulate his co-star.

Its performance and handling are on a different level to the older pair, and it is the one that would make for the most spectacular car chase in the hands of a stunt driver today.

All Ford Mustang Bullitts have a mesh grille at the front and the pony badge removed, apart from the 2001 car

And yet the 2001 car is clearly the most differentiated from the GT on which it was based and so, arguably, the most special.

But while that car needed additions to make it look more like a 1968 fastback, the 2005 model that lent the 2008 Bullitt Mustang its mechanical make-up is essentially the 1968 car made modern to start with.

Each of these Mustangs has a unique selling point, but Ford’s second shot best reincarnates the spirit of the greatest movie chase.

The 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt’s tail conjures the 1968 car

Its flat, uninterrupted panels evoke the original Bullitt Mustang in a way neither the more rounded 2001 car nor the more aggressively angular 2019 car do.

Thanks to its charming character, it’s also the car you’d be most confident to drift around a closed city block – whether that’s in San Francisco sun or Wycombe drizzle.

Images: Luc Lacey

Thanks to: Charlie Aquilina, David Redhead, Andrew Spencer, Alan Davis; Wycombe Wanderers

Factfiles

1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 Fastback

Sold/number built 1967-’69/18,838 (1968 Mustang GTs)
Construction steel monocoque
Engine all-iron, ohv 6384cc V8, four-barrel Holley carburettor
Max power 325bhp @ 4800rpm
Max torque 427lb ft @ 3200rpm
Transmission four-speed manual, RWD
Suspension: front independent, by unequal-length wishbones, coil springs, anti-roll bar rear live axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs; telescopic dampers f/r
Steering recirculating ball
Brakes drums (discs fitted to this car)
Length 15ft 6in (4663mm)
Width 5ft 11in (1801mm)
Height 4ft 4in (1311mm)
Wheelbase 9ft (2743mm)
Weight 3340lb (1515kg)
Mpg 15
0-60mph 6.2 secs
Top speed 130mph
Price new $3500
Price now £60-80,000*

2001 Ford Mustang Bullitt

Sold/number built 2001-’02/5582
Construction steel monocoque
Engine iron-block, alloy-heads, sohc-per-bank 4601cc ‘modular’ 16v V8, electronic fuel injection
Max power 265bhp @ 5000rpm
Max torque 305lb ft @ 4000rpm
Transmission five-speed manual, RWD
Suspension: front independent, by MacPherson struts rear live axle, four links, coil springs, telescopic dampers; anti-roll bar f/r
Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes discs, with servo and anti-lock
Length 15ft 1in (4610mm)
Width 6ft 1in (1856mm)
Height 4ft 4in (1329mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 5in (2573mm)
Weight 3318lb (1505kg)
Mpg 24
0-60mph 5.8 secs
Top speed 152mph
Price new $26,830
Price now £10-20,000*

2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt

Sold/number built 2007-’08/5808
Construction steel monocoque
Engine all-alloy, sohc-per-bank 4601cc ‘modular’ 24v V8, sequential fuel injection
Max power 315bhp @ 6000rpm
Max torque 325lb ft @ 4250rpm
Transmission Tremec five-speed manual, RWD
Suspension: front independent, by MacPherson struts rear live axle, three links, Panhard rod, coil springs, telescopic dampers; anti-roll bar f/r
Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes discs, with servo and anti-lock
Length 15ft 8in (4775mm)
Width 6ft 2in (1877mm)
Height 4ft 7in (1405mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 11in (2720mm)
Weight 3370lb (1530kg)
Mpg 22
0-60mph 5 secs
Top speed 152mph
Price new $31,075
Price now £15-30,000*

2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt

Sold/number built 2018-’20/8200
Construction steel monocoque
Engine all-alloy, dohc-per-bank 5038cc ‘modular’ 32v V8, direct fuel injection
Max power 453bhp @ 7000rpm
Max torque 388lb ft @ 4500rpm
Transmission Getrag six-speed manual, RWD
Suspension independent, at front by double-pivot MacPherson struts rear by integral-link MacPherson struts; anti-roll bar f/r
Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes discs, with servo and anti-lock
Length 15ft 9in (4789mm)
Width 6ft 3in (1916mm)
Height 4ft 6in (1382mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 11in (2720mm)
Weight 3843lb (1743kg)
Mpg 23
0-60mph 4.6 secs
Top speed 155mph
Price new £47,545
Price now £30-50,000*