What's all this about?
Ford, barely more than a month ago at the Detroit Auto Show in the US, told us it was marking the 50th anniversary of Steve McQueen's iconic Bullitt film of 1968 with a special version of the current Mustang, which has just undergone some tweaks for the 2018MY. Well, now it has brought the car over to the Geneva Motor Show - where the Blue Oval has confirmed that we're going to get the Mustang Bullitt in Europe. Production of our vehicles will begin in June. Hoorah!
Does it still make the 481hp and 569Nm as quoted last time?
Umm, no. Sorry. The Mustang Bullitt works upon the 450hp, 5.0-litre V8 of the revised muscle car to end up with improved data of 464hp and 526Nm. No word on performance or eco-stats yet, but the increased outputs are achieved through the use of an 'Open Air Induction System' and intake manifold, plus 87mm throttle bodies and the ECU programme from a Shelby Mustang GT350. Further, the Bullitt has a six-speed manual gearbox with a new rev-matching function that blips the V8 on downshifts, MagneRide adjustable suspension and an active valve performance exhaust system to 'enhance the V8's signature burble'. Lovely.
OK, what about the looks and interior?
Outside, the car is shorn of almost all badging and comes in two colours - Shadow Black or, more pertinently (given the links to the 1968 film and the car that featured in it) Dark Highland Green. In the arches are a set of 19-inch Torq Thrust alloys, the Brembo brake callipers are painted red and there's a 'faux' Bullitt fuel-filler cap. Chrome accents around the front windows and the now-painted-black front grille hark back to the machine McQueen drove in the cop flick.
Inside, there's lots more green stitching, plus a white cue-ball gearshift knob and a 12-inch digital LCD instrument cluster that - while no different operationally from the same item in regular 2018MY Mustangs - nevertheless features a unique green start-up screen that shows the Bullitt car, rather than the 'Stang's galloping pony logo. Black leather-trimmed Recaro sports seats are an option, there's a 1,000-watt, 12-speaker B&O Play premium audio system on board and each Mustang Bullitt will feature an individually numbered plaque on the passenger-side dashboard.
Matt Robinson - 5 Mar 2018
