Ford’s rumoured Bullitt movie-inspired Mustang may have been spotted out in the wild, potentially indicating a new special edition muscle car is on its way.
It could be argued that the 1968 American thriller Bullitt staring cinema icon Steve McQueen launched the Mustang’s mass appeal as a cool American muscle car.
The film has an iconic car chase through the streets of San Francisco pitting a Ford Mustang GT against a Dodge Charger, where McQueen’s character, the titular Bullit, forces the chasing Charger off the road and into a petrol station causing it to explode in a fireball. From there the Mustang became a US automotive legend, much like James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5.
Back in 2001, Ford released the Mustang Bullitt, which took a Mustang GT for the same year and gave it some fresh styling and better performance and handling. Then in 2008 Ford did the same again, taking its Mustang and shaping it to be a modernised version of the classic 1968 car.
The Mustang’s design and performance has evolved over the past decade, but rumours have hinted at a new Bullitt model, though nothing came of them, until now.
Photos snapped by Tony Zaleski Jr and posted into the Mustang6G.com forum show a modem Mustang complete with Bullitt branding and sporting the dark green hues of the original car.
The shots were captured outside a hotel nearby a motor trade show with the car reportedly covered by a sheet and given a police escort when it arrived.
This would suggest that the Mustang is not simply a custom job by a local dealer but an official model made by Ford.
A Ford spokesperson gave Motor Trend a rather cagey reply, seemingly neither confirming or denying the existence of a new Mustang Bullitt: “Sorry, not sure when any official information will be released.”
Given 2018 is the 50th anniversary of Bullit, there’s a strong chance a commemorative Mustang model could pop up at the Detroit Motor Show next year.
Related: Best concept cars 2017
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
