LOS ANGELES: More than 30 years after it leaped and screeched through San Francisco in pursuit of that Dodge Charger, the most famous Mustang in history will finally get its due from Ford.
So the 2001 Mustang Bullitt GT, which Ford calls a performance derivative inspired by the 1968 Mustang Fastback driven by Steve McQueen in the movie Bullitt, will go on sale in Canada and the U.S. this year.
This puts the Mustang on a remarkably short list of models to get their names from movies. About the only other model that comes to mind is the Graduate from Alfa-Romeo, named after the Dustin Hoffman movie of roughly the same vintage as Bullitt.
Though building a special edition of a car from a 30-year-old movie suggests Ford may have been desparate for some special model to keep Mustang sales moving, it actually fits into a current wave of nostalgia sweeping the firm. Consider that it's about to put a two-seat T-bird back on the market after about 40 years, and it's reached even farther back into its history to resurrect the image of the '49 Ford in its Forty-Nine concept car. The decision to put the Bullitt model into production came after Ford received overwhelmingly positive response from consumers who first saw a concept version of the car at the 2000 Los Angeles Auto Show.
"The movie has some of the greatest car-chase scenes ever filmed," says Ford Division President, Jim O'Connor, who used to toil here as president of Ford of Canada. It was during that time in the mid-90s that the Oakville operation sponsored a special TV showing of the movie, with O'Connor as the host, so he's not a late-comer to this promotion.
He points out - correctly, as it happens - that "The 1968 Fastback Mustang GT 390, driven by Steve McQueen, created an indelible image in the minds of millions of people. We have taken some of the passion from the Hollywood film and put it into an exciting new car."
There were two cars used in filming the famous chase through the hilly downtown streets of San Francisco, the primary one of which ended up on the scrapheap. The other worked its way through a bunch of owners and was actually used as a daily driver for some time.
According to Ford's research, Road & Track carried an ad for the car in 1974, at which time McQueen tried to buy it. But it had already been sold to someone in New Jersey, who declined to sell it to the actor or to anyone else until this day.
"Whenever contacted by prospective buyers or media," Ford says, " the owner has refused offers of purchase or publicity. The car has been in non-running condition for some time."
The car went from New Jersey to a farm in the Ohio River Valley in the mid-90s, Ford discovered. "Parked in a hay barn, the Mustang remains inoperable, still wearing New Jersey tags. A film company recently made an offer to the owner for its use in a motion picture. The owner declined."
So with the original model off the market, what else could Ford do but offer to build a 2001 Bullitt that "features exterior enhancements that visually and emotionally connect it to the 1968 Fastback from the film?" It's like a community service for movie lovers.
The unique aspects of the Bullitt model include unique side scoops, 17-inch Bullitt-style aluminum wheels, and a lowered suspension. Rocker-panel moldings enhance the low-to-the-ground appearance, there's a brushed aluminum fuel filler door on the quarter panel, and there's Bullitt badging and polished-rolled tailpipe tips to further distinguish the car. The Bullitt is available in Dark Highland Green, True Blue, and Black.
Ford has tried to capture the famous fastback shape by modifying the C-pillars and quarter panel molding, but it's not likely purists will be cheering. The look is suggestive of the original, however, which should be enough for a lot of people.
What will excite a lot of buyers is the Bullitt GT's ability to peel out and do other street racer stuff. For some people it's enough to say that it will be faster than the current fastest Mustang - the regular GT - but others will want to see some hard facts.
Ford has taken the familiar 4.6L SOHC V8 and modified it to improve airflow and reduce parasitic loses, in the process producing at least 270 horsepower and "significantly more torque than the Mustang GT engine."
Cam-heads will care that Ford put in twin 57mm bore throttle-body injectors, a cast aluminum intake manifold and high-flow mufflers for increased power and aggressive performance sound, and "optimized" alternator and pump pulley ratios.
The Bullitt GT is lowered about 20 mm to generate a firmer, better-balanced ride and improved handling characteristics. The performance-handling package includes re-valved Tokico struts and shocks, unique stabilizer bars (front and rear), and frame rail connectors.
Thirteen-inch Brembo front rotors and performance calipers provide excellent stopping capability, says O'Connor, and the calipers are painted red and are visible through the 17-inch wheels spokes.
"Bullitt is quick off the line, handles great, stops fast and shifts easily with improved pedal relationship," says Art Hyde, Mustang chief program engineer. "This is the best performing GT we have ever produced."
Inside, Bullitt features performance buckets with Dark Charcoal leather trim. Hyde says a brushed aluminum shifter ball, shifter bezel, door sill plates with Bullitt nomenclature and aluminum pedal covers accent the interior's performance appearance. "The instrument cluster is a modern interpretation of 1960s design and offers unique curved numeric speedometer graphics and a white-lit background."
There will be a limited production of about 5,000 Mustang Bullitt GTs built on the same line of the Dearborn Assembly Plant that produces the V6, GT and Cobra Mustangs. Each Bullitt will come with a unique serialized identification label from the factory, O'Connor notes, "to ensure exclusivity and collectability."
So the 2001 Mustang Bullitt GT, which Ford calls a performance derivative inspired by the 1968 Mustang Fastback driven by Steve McQueen in the movie Bullitt, will go on sale in Canada and the U.S. this year.
This puts the Mustang on a remarkably short list of models to get their names from movies. About the only other model that comes to mind is the Graduate from Alfa-Romeo, named after the Dustin Hoffman movie of roughly the same vintage as Bullitt.
Though building a special edition of a car from a 30-year-old movie suggests Ford may have been desparate for some special model to keep Mustang sales moving, it actually fits into a current wave of nostalgia sweeping the firm. Consider that it's about to put a two-seat T-bird back on the market after about 40 years, and it's reached even farther back into its history to resurrect the image of the '49 Ford in its Forty-Nine concept car. The decision to put the Bullitt model into production came after Ford received overwhelmingly positive response from consumers who first saw a concept version of the car at the 2000 Los Angeles Auto Show.
"The movie has some of the greatest car-chase scenes ever filmed," says Ford Division President, Jim O'Connor, who used to toil here as president of Ford of Canada. It was during that time in the mid-90s that the Oakville operation sponsored a special TV showing of the movie, with O'Connor as the host, so he's not a late-comer to this promotion.
He points out - correctly, as it happens - that "The 1968 Fastback Mustang GT 390, driven by Steve McQueen, created an indelible image in the minds of millions of people. We have taken some of the passion from the Hollywood film and put it into an exciting new car."
There were two cars used in filming the famous chase through the hilly downtown streets of San Francisco, the primary one of which ended up on the scrapheap. The other worked its way through a bunch of owners and was actually used as a daily driver for some time.
According to Ford's research, Road & Track carried an ad for the car in 1974, at which time McQueen tried to buy it. But it had already been sold to someone in New Jersey, who declined to sell it to the actor or to anyone else until this day.
"Whenever contacted by prospective buyers or media," Ford says, " the owner has refused offers of purchase or publicity. The car has been in non-running condition for some time."
The car went from New Jersey to a farm in the Ohio River Valley in the mid-90s, Ford discovered. "Parked in a hay barn, the Mustang remains inoperable, still wearing New Jersey tags. A film company recently made an offer to the owner for its use in a motion picture. The owner declined."
So with the original model off the market, what else could Ford do but offer to build a 2001 Bullitt that "features exterior enhancements that visually and emotionally connect it to the 1968 Fastback from the film?" It's like a community service for movie lovers.
The unique aspects of the Bullitt model include unique side scoops, 17-inch Bullitt-style aluminum wheels, and a lowered suspension. Rocker-panel moldings enhance the low-to-the-ground appearance, there's a brushed aluminum fuel filler door on the quarter panel, and there's Bullitt badging and polished-rolled tailpipe tips to further distinguish the car. The Bullitt is available in Dark Highland Green, True Blue, and Black.
Ford has tried to capture the famous fastback shape by modifying the C-pillars and quarter panel molding, but it's not likely purists will be cheering. The look is suggestive of the original, however, which should be enough for a lot of people.
What will excite a lot of buyers is the Bullitt GT's ability to peel out and do other street racer stuff. For some people it's enough to say that it will be faster than the current fastest Mustang - the regular GT - but others will want to see some hard facts.
Ford has taken the familiar 4.6L SOHC V8 and modified it to improve airflow and reduce parasitic loses, in the process producing at least 270 horsepower and "significantly more torque than the Mustang GT engine."
Cam-heads will care that Ford put in twin 57mm bore throttle-body injectors, a cast aluminum intake manifold and high-flow mufflers for increased power and aggressive performance sound, and "optimized" alternator and pump pulley ratios.
The Bullitt GT is lowered about 20 mm to generate a firmer, better-balanced ride and improved handling characteristics. The performance-handling package includes re-valved Tokico struts and shocks, unique stabilizer bars (front and rear), and frame rail connectors.
Thirteen-inch Brembo front rotors and performance calipers provide excellent stopping capability, says O'Connor, and the calipers are painted red and are visible through the 17-inch wheels spokes.
"Bullitt is quick off the line, handles great, stops fast and shifts easily with improved pedal relationship," says Art Hyde, Mustang chief program engineer. "This is the best performing GT we have ever produced."
Inside, Bullitt features performance buckets with Dark Charcoal leather trim. Hyde says a brushed aluminum shifter ball, shifter bezel, door sill plates with Bullitt nomenclature and aluminum pedal covers accent the interior's performance appearance. "The instrument cluster is a modern interpretation of 1960s design and offers unique curved numeric speedometer graphics and a white-lit background."
There will be a limited production of about 5,000 Mustang Bullitt GTs built on the same line of the Dearborn Assembly Plant that produces the V6, GT and Cobra Mustangs. Each Bullitt will come with a unique serialized identification label from the factory, O'Connor notes, "to ensure exclusivity and collectability."
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