FORD UNVEILS NEW MUSTANG BULLITT WITH EXTRA OOMPH
Ford has taken the wraps off its new Mustang Bullitt at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, celebrating the 50th anniversary of iconic Bullitt movie.
The new special-edition Bullitt boasts an upgraded version of the brand’s 5,0-litre V8, delivering “at least” 354 kW (up from the 343 kW produced by the latest Mustang GT, which has yet to arrive in South Africa) and 569 N.m.
The Mustang Bullitt is fitted with a manual transmission, and the gear shifter features a white “cue ball” knob as a nod to the original. An active valve performance exhaust system comes standard (complete with black exhaust tips), retuned to give the car what Ford calls a “signature burble”. The new model also gains an open-air induction system, along with the Shelby GT350 intake manifold with 87 mm throttle bodies and powertrain control module calibration.
Other standard equipment includes a heated leather steering wheel and a 12-inch digital instrument cluster with a unique Bullitt “welcome screen” that starts in green with an image of the car rather than the pony.
Paint colour choices are limited to “Shadow Black” and the “Dark Highland Green” (the latter as worn in the movie). Other nods to the original include chrome accents around the grille and front windows, classic “torque thrust” 19-inch alloys, red painted Brembo brakes and a black front grille. The leather-trimmed interior, meanwhile, features green accent stitching on the facia, door panels, centre console and seats.
“When making a Bullitt, there are certain things it absolutely must have,” said Carl Widmann, Mustang chief engineer. “It has to have the right attitude, it has to be unique in some way from a Mustang GT, and more than anything, it has to be bad ass.”
50 years of history — Original 1968 Bullitt Mustang and 2019 Mustang Bullitt
