Nearly 50 years after it made its big screen debut, Bullitt is back.
The 1968 Mustang GT Fastback that was driven by Steve McQueen in the classic film Bullitt has received a 2019 special-edition makeover by Ford, which debuted the vehicle at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The new Bullitt has an upgraded 5.0-liter V8 engine that delivers 475 horsepower and 420 pound-feet (lb-ft) of torque. It tops out a 163 mph, which is an 8-mph improvement on the latest Mustang GT — and you can buy it in the Dark Highland Green it featured in the movie.
The 1968 Mustang GT Fastback had a 5-liter V8 that delivered 320 horsepower, 427 pound-feet of torque, and topped out at 119 mph.
The new Mustang Bullitt will be available this summer and even comes with a white cue ball shift knob on the gear shifter as a tribute to the original.
Two different versions of the 1968 model were used for making the movie, known as the 558 and the 559 — based off of their VIN numbers. After production wrapped on the film, the 559 was sold to a Warner Brothers employee.
The car was sold two years later to a New Jersey cop for $6,000, and in 1974 Robert Kiernan bought it for $6,000 when he saw a classified ad for it in Road & Track magazine. He actually used it as the family car for the next six years.
In 1977, Steve McQueen tried to buy the 559 off of the Kiernans, but they declined his offer. In 2001, Robert began restoring the car with his son Sean.
Sean inherited the car in 2014 when his father passed away and finished restoring the vehicle in 2016, when he started it for the first time.
According to some estimates, the car could be worth at least $4 million. The 2019 edition, which will be available later this year, will cost from $45,000-$55,000.
According to Mustang Chief Designer, "the new Bullitt is, as Steve McQueen was, effortlessly cool."
This is IEN Now with David Mantey.
