Car of the Day - Ford Mustang Bullit

Car of the Day - Ford Mustang Bullit

Ford nailed it with the 2008 Mustang Bullit. Combining the badge stripped pre-product placement look of the original movie car with a driver focused and balanced refinement of an already good everyman’s performance car they managed to deliver that which is usually unattainable if you try - it is cool.

The original Highland Park green McQueen car is undoubtably one of the most iconic movie car ever, in most peoples view probably a clear winner. The only thing wrong with the 2008 40th Anniversary model is that it just looks like it wants to be driven hard .... in a way that is socially unacceptable.

The subtleness of the exterior to the uninitiated belays the fact that a lot of design and engineering has gone in to the Bullit to deliver an almost perfect modern interpretation of what made the original so special - besides the fact that it was driven by Steve McQueen.

The interior comes in Charcoal Black leather with Satin metallic trim and features a unique to the Bullit hand-machined, aluminum swirl dash panel appliqué. The air vents and gauges get satin aluminum bezels that complement the shift knob. The interior is clean and uncluttered.

The tweaked 4.6 liter V8 engine delivers a not over the top 315 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. The engine has been calibrated to provide increased throttle response and the redline has been raised by 250 rpm to 6,500. The car features an open-element air filter with the intake places directly behind the driver side headlamp in a specifically designed air box. A new hood liner fully seals the unit into an air box which provides a flow of cooler air reducing intake loss.

The Bullit also gets a custom dual exhaust system with a H-pipe. The mufflers feature large 3.5 inch chrome tips that are tuned to minimize backpressure and provide the Bullitt with its distinctive exhaust note that emulates the original movie car. The Ford engineers referenced a Digitally mastered copy of the movie to ensure that they got the sound as close as possible.

Power is transferred by a Tremac 5-speed manual transmission with a polished aluminum shift ball topping the gearstick. The final drive is 3.73-to-1 which also helps improve acceleration.

The chassis gets an equal amount of attention with a real focus on driving dynamics. The stock Mustang GT shocks and struts are replaced with new units that allowed engineers to deliver a more aggressive driving dynamic A new tower-to-tower brace designed specifically for the Bullit provides additional torsional and lateral stiffness and improved cornering. The serial number for each of the 7700 Bullits is featured on the brace.

Wheels are unique cast-aluminum Euroflange wheels, with Dark Argent Gray spokes in a satin finish and a bright-machined outer rim. The wheels are shod with P235/50ZR 18 BF Goodrich g-Force T/A KDWS tires. Brake calipers are color coded to the wheels. The brakes get more aggressive front pads that improve fade resistance and pedal feel.

Rod Halligan