 2001 Ford Bullitt Mustang
 GOOD STUFFLimited edition Great exhaust note! Powerful V8 engine Not physically draining to drive King of Cool cars  BAD STUFFPremium price Limited rear seat room Exhaust drone could become wearisome Nothing a car lover can't live with
 First, the bottom line
On screen and off, his persona was rough-edged. Although physically small of stature, he was not a man to mess with. Pit bulls, coral snakes and piranhas are small, too. In 1968, having transitioned from TV's "Wanted Dead or Alive" to movies, McQueen took a starring role as detective Frank Bullitt in the Warner Bros.' movie "Bullitt." The highly successful film not only furthered McQueen's reputation but featured what may be the greatest car chase ever filmed. The edge-of-your-seat chase had McQueen driving a 1968 Ford Mustang fastback in pursuit of a Dodge Charger R/T driven by the "bad guys." Much of the action took place on hilly San Francisco downtown streets, with speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour and both cars launched airborne over hill tops. McQueen, a car and motorcycle racer, did much of his own driving. This week's tested Bullitt Mustang pays tribute to the movie with an updated version of the classic Ford Mustang that McQueen drove. It is a fantasy. As the movie was. The movie reality was that four specially prepared cars were used. Suspension systems were seriously beefed up to handle the stunts and horsepower was tweaked on the Mustang (which could never have kept up with a Charger R/T in those days). It took two weeks to film that chase, in bits and pieces. Cars were wrecked; the Charger slid into a camera; numerous little errors can be found on repeated viewing; and -- worst -- a driverless Charger overshot the target for the finale!
Outside, you'll see the fantasy only one place. The single word "Bullitt" appears in chrome on the left side of the car's rear. Open a door, and the word "Bullitt" is spelled out on the sill. The paint color -- Dark Highland Green -- matches that of the Mustang that McQueen drove in Bullitt (but you can have it black or True Blue, as well). And, oh yes, there's this big hood scoop on the hood. Fake. Like the movie's climatic scene. But how could anyone who loves cars go wrong in buying a Bullitt Mustang? It stands a good chance of becoming a future collectible, of increasing in value. But beyond that, it's a terrific cruising car. It turns heads and, if someone astute should notice the chrome word on the rear, raises eyebrows of approval. A Bullitt Mustang is special in a way very, very few vehicles are today. The burbling exhaust, popping as it backs down, stands the hairs of buffs on end. It's so delightful, a Bullitt driver will leave the windows down.
McQueen died of cancer at age 50. His movies -- "Bullitt", "The Towering Inferno", "The Great Escape", "Papillon" and many more -- live on, however, replayed monthly on cable channels. Each year, a new generation discovers the intense actor. And now the Bullitt Mustang enjoys a revival, as well. As McQueen was special, so is this car. Like it? I loved it.
 Safety
Suffice it to say this has the required features: dual front air bags and three-point belt restraints at all seated positions. It has anti-lock brakes with bigger binders and twin, red-painted calipers with the Mustang logo on the 13-inch front rotors. Traction control is selectable by a button on the console. It's best left on, unless a strong burnout is desired. This Mustang will easily chirp tires on upshifts, even with traction control on.  Handling
The Mustang was the first in a series of cars that became known as Pony Cars, sporty rear-wheel drive coupes with big engines. After the Mustang's initial success, General Motors followed with the Chevy Camaro and Pontiac Firebird, and Chrysler with the Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda. Even American Motors got into the competition. But the field always belonged to the Mustang, and after next year the Mustang will be the sole survivor. Since these cars were designed from the beginning for performance and handling, you'd expect the Bullitt Mustang to excel in these considerations. You would not be wrong. The Bullitt Mustang is based on the GT Mustang, tweaked for five more horsepower and better handling. Above the Bullitt resides the SVT Cobra Mustang, a hard-to-tame beast that will flat wear you out. When the Bullitt Mustang was delivered, the middleman who holds the Ford contract told me bluntly that I'd like this best of all Mustangs. He knows me well after 12 years. A regular Mustang isn't hot enough for me; a Cobra is serious overkill, not suited for everyday city driving. This one is .. just right. Spring pressure in the front suspension has been stiffened from 450 pounds per inch in the GT to 600 pounds per inch in the Bullitt. Struts are bigger, as well. In the rear, the shocks are like a GT but the springs have stiffened from 210 pounds per inch to 250 pounds per inch. It all adds up to a car that corners flat and sure, yet doesn't display the skip sideways tendency of older Mustangs. Which slides us into ...  Performance
"Image is everything," Andre Agassi said in a commercial. "We bad, we bad," Gene Wilder said in a movie. If ever a car projected an image, a "we bad, we bad" image that is every bit as charming as Gene Wilder, it's the Mustang. The Bullitt Mustang simply amplifies that. Begin with that exhaust note. If you viewed the videos in the first section, you heard the Bullitt Mustang crank up, accelerate, decelerate, chirp tires on every upshift. It's a sound not matched elsewhere, a specially tuned sound that is even better than the standard GT Mustang's throaty bark. "We bad, we bad" it says, only half-jokingly. Listen, if you can't back it up, don't say it. But 0-to-60 in 5.8 seconds backs it up. Torque instantly available at almost any speed backs it up. A V8 that keeps pulling powerfully to 100 miles an hour and more backs it up. It's bad, it's bad. The increased horsepower could have provided even quicker acceleration, but Ford backed off the final drive ratio a bit, taming things at the low end. The resulting nice compromise makes the Bullitt Mustang a gentler performer than GM competitors, which can easily become squirrelly. And rear-wheel drive means you steer the car instead of the car steering you. One of the nicest things that can be said about this powerful car is that it was relatively easy to drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Plus, it uses regular gas and gets decent mileage.
In the overblown rhetoric of corporate PR, Ford says, "With the Bullitt Mustang, we have a set of functional features that would make Steve McQueen and Lt. Frank Bullitt proud today. Bullitt has elevated the GT into an unforgettable car that enhances Ford's performance reputation and builds on Mustang's performance tradition that began with vehicles like the Mach 1, Boss 302 and the 428 Cobra Jet." OK, catch your breath. It ain't that great. The figures below are from computer testing the 2001 Bullitt Mustang.
 Comfort
When performance is the measure of a model, comfort is often sacrificed. I hope no one calls the Bullitt Mustang comfortable. A Jaguar is comfortable; a Mustang is a hoot. But it's not uncomfortable either. A driver settles into a leather-covered, form-fitting seat and all controls are within easy reach. Steering effort is as it should be, a bit on the firm side. As mentioned, shifting is not a sweat-inducing chore in the Bullitt. It's another story entirely for anyone unfortunate enough to draw a rear seat. Entry is difficult and foot space is minimal. Head room is not exactly plentiful, either. The dash is straight from a standard GT Mustang, a bit of a disappointment since the Bullitt option is $3,695. You'd think there would be a bit more dressing than one piece of chrome on the rear and two stamped door sills.  Parting Shots
There will be only 6,500 Bullitt Mustangs made. You certainly won't see one frequently, and you might not see one anywhere but an auto show. In the past, vehicle rarity has served to boost used value. It's a reasonable bet that this will be the case with the Bullitt Mustang. But the entry price is steep, and it will certainly be years before anyone can say this Mustang is worth more than its original sticker price.
You'll fire it up, hear that staccato burst from the twin exhaust tips, and imagine yourself the King of Cool. Look left, look right, arch an eyebrow. Check the rear view. Now .. chirp the rear tires ever so slightly as you exit your driveway. You turn left at Elm Street and scan the road ahead. The exhaust sound waves bellow off buildings and the tires chirp again on the upshift to second. You wonder if you should have worn the navy turtleneck instead of the beige one. There! Ahead. It's the bad guys. In a Dodge Neon R/T. Go get 'em, Bullitt. This is the stuff of fantasy. 'Nuff said.   Home, James |
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Specifications
Actor Steve McQueen once was widely acknowledged to be the King of Cool.
The 2001 Bullitt Mustang is beefed up. Compared to a normal Mustang GT, the Bullitt is lower, has a considerably stiffer suspension setup both front and rear, has stronger brakes, more horsepower, and a reduced flow exhaust system to create a new distinctive sound.
There are no serious flaws with this car. Obviously, it's not a family hauler, not a soccermom's dream. It's likely, in fact, to attract an older buyer, one who remembers the movie's first theatrical release, who thinks of McQueen in the same way James Dean is remembered. Special actors. We've not seen even one with their magnetism since their passing.
There is special video for this special car. Ford provided silent B-roll footage, which I combined with new video and an original sound track to recreate a piece of the "Bullitt" chase experience. The clip is one-minute long, which means it's big for all but broadband users. There are smaller versions for slower connections, however. The biggest file and best quality is 
Come on. No one buys a car like the Bullitt Mustang for safety concerns.
This easy-to-drive kudo is thanks largely to improvements made in the clutch. The clutch pedal no longer requires the leg of an NFL punter to hold down. And the five-speed manual transmission, topped with an aluminum ball on the shifter, can now be shifted with one hand, not two. The aluminum pedals are said by Ford to be placed better for heel-and-toe shifting. Nope. Dear Ford, See Mazda Miata. Copy.
Only a handful of collectors buy cars for the distant future, though. If you want a Bullitt Mustang, and you want to drive it now, rest assured you'll enjoy both the car and the recognition the name Bullitt brings to it.