



Celebrating the 50th anniversary of iconic movie “Bullitt” and its fan-favorite San Francisco car chase, Ford introduces the new cool and powerful 2019 Mustang Bullitt.

BULLITT was one of the best car chase films of all time and helped establish the genre when it hit cinemas in 1968.

–







Steve McQueen’s grand daughter Molly McQueen unveiled the 2019 edition of the Bullitt Mustang for Ford at the Detroit Auto Show overnight – after appearing in a short car chase film to tease the audience.

More powerful than a regular Mustang GT, the special edition is de-badged just like the movie car. It sits on special 19-inch wheels and has a manual transmission with a white cue ball shifter knob, again, just like the original. Ford says it should deliver at least 475 horsepower and 420 lb-ft. of torque.

–



–

–

The six-speed manual will be the only transmission choice for the Bullitt, so Steve McQueen wannabees can double-clutch upshift as in the famous “Bullitt” chase scene. Together that should be enough for a top speed of 163 mph which, if you’re keeping track, is an all-important 8 mph faster than the Mustang GT the Bullitt Edition is based on.The new Mustang Bullitt will be available in either Dark Highland Green, or Shadow Black, with black interior featuring green stitching on the dash, door panels and center console and seats, and 12-inch digital LCD instrument cluster.Ford made a brilliant decision on the story line of this Mustang commercial… having Steve McQueen’s grand daughter drive the new Bullitt edition Mustang in race with a black Charger, for the last empty spot in a garage.

Well, I think that Steve McQueen would be proud.

The biggest surprise, however, was for Molly.

In the lead-up to this week’s Detroit Auto Show, Ford invited Molly to its design studio on the premise of showing her the new Mustang she would be unveiling. Instead she was reunited with the original 1968 Mustang her grandfather drove in the film.

The original McQueen car, one of two identical 1968 Mustang GT fastbacks used in the filming of Bullitt, had for years sat in a New Jersey garage. After filming, the hero ‘Stang driven by McQueen was sold by Warner Bros to a private buyer.

The car’s owner Sean Kiernan – who inherited the movie car in 2014 after it had been in his family since 1974 – introduced himself to Molly. McQueen filmed all the chase scenes himself in the Warner Bros with this car. Real speed. Real crashes. Real point of view of the driver.

“This is probably the Holy Grail, if there is one,” said Mark Gessler, president of the Historic Vehicle Association. “It’s one of the most important artifacts of the 21st Century in terms of automotive history. It is a national cultural treasure.”