Just when you thought that we’d hit peak McQueen, Ford plans to pour gasoline on the flames of our obsession with the release of a new Mustang Bullitt at the Detroit Auto Show, according to Automotive News.
For those of you who don’t already know, “Bullitt” was a 1968 movie featuring Steve McQueen as a grizzled police lieutenant protecting a mob informant from hitmen. It also has one of the best car chases in history through the streets of San Francisco. McQueen’s car of choice? A Highland Green 1968 Mustang GT fastback.
The 1968 Mustang GT and the 2001 Mustang Bullitt pose together in the streets of San Francisco.
To celebrate people’s love of McQueen, “Bullitt,” and Ford’s love of Mustang and making money, in 2001, the company decided to release a special Bullitt Edition SN95-generation Mustang with a whole host of performance upgrades. It managed to sell around 5,500 of them, and so in 2008, Ford went and did it again with the SN197 Mustang. This time, the performance upgrades weren’t quite as serious, but the Bullitt was still good for 315 horsepower, 15 more than a standard GT.
Now, for the 2018 model year and the 50th anniversary of the film, Ford is reportedly going to do it again. Details are scarce when it comes to what, if any, performance upgrades the new Bullitt Mustang will feature, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see some suspension tweaks and maybe a different exhaust or mild powertrain tuning. Aesthetically, we’re expecting the requisite riff on highland green paint, Torq-Thrust-style five-spoke wheels with polished lips, and probably some spoiler and splitter changes.
The 2008-2009 Bullitt hewed closer to the original thanks to the retro styling of the SN197 chassis Mustang.
FordRepresentatives from Ford would neither confirm nor deny the rumored Bullitt unveiling when Roadshow reached them for comment.
We’re looking forward to seeing the Bullitt, as well as Ford’s updated Edge SUV at next week’s Detroit Auto Show, so make sure you watch this space to catch all of our event coverage.
Detroit Auto Show 2018
