The Herald (South Africa)

Mustang Bullitt reprises epic Steve McQueen car chase

-

Ford Motor Cars SA has confirmed that limited numbers of the special 2019 Mustang Bullitt will find their way to this country.

The Mustang Bullitt salutes the 50th anniversar­y of the classic Warner film Bullitt, which was released on October 17 1968.

The film starred Steve McQueen as police lieutenant Frank Bullitt, who, chased by villains in a Dodge Charger, gets involved in one of movie history’s most epic movie car chases at the wheel of a dark Highland green 1968 Mustang.

Ford has recreated that vintage Mustang’s cool factor with a 2019 iteration of the 54-yearold coupe.

Bullitt combines elements of Mustang GT Premium and Performanc­e Package content but adds a heated leather-clad steering wheel and a 12-inch all-digital LCD instrument cluster identical in function to the cluster of the regular Mustang, but with a unique Bullitt welcome screen that starts with an image of the car rather than the standard pony.

The Bullitt version is equipped with a six-speed manual transmissi­on with rev matching gear shift indicator and a white cue ball shift knob in a nod to the original.

Thanks to a new open-air induction system and a Shelby GT350 intake manifold, the Bullitt’s performanc­e-tuned 5.0l V8 engine packs 358kW and 569Nm of torque – some 52kW and 39Nm stronger than a regular 5.0 GT.

The top speed is claimed to be 262km/h.

Exterior paint choices are Shadow Black or classic dark Highland green – the latter as in the movie. Other features paying tribute to the car McQueen drove are chrome accents around a black honeycomb grille and side windows, classic five-spoke heritage 19inch aluminium wheels and red-painted BremboT brake calipers with larger rotors.

Local pricing and spec levels will be confirmed closer to local introducti­on.

 ?? Picture: QUICKPIC ?? ICON RE-IMAGINED: The new 2019 Bullitt, right, pays homage to the 1968 Mustang, left, with the same dark Highland green colour
Picture: QUICKPIC ICON RE-IMAGINED: The new 2019 Bullitt, right, pays homage to the 1968 Mustang, left, with the same dark Highland green colour

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa