Test Drive: 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt

2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt. Click image to enlarge

Related articles on Autos Test Drives 2001 Ford Mustang Bullitt, by Greg Wilson Manufacturer’s web site Ford Motor Company of Canada

Review and photos by Jil McIntosh

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2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt

Oshawa, Ontario – I have a secret to confess: I have never seen the movie Bullitt, at least not in its entirety. I have no idea why Frank Bullitt was chasing that Dodge Charger through the streets of San Francisco, but it really doesn’t matter; I certainly have watched the scene that really counts, and probably a dozen times, and it simply never gets old.

Likewise, the redesigned “retro” Mustang has yet to overstay its welcome with me, and when Ford put the two of them together to create the 2008 Bullitt, I was in. There are numerous “special editions” out there based on the stock vehicle, ranging from Saleen’s Dan Gurney model to Ford’s “Warriors in Pink” breast cancer awareness version, but so far, this one’s my favourite.

2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt. Click image to enlarge

The 2008 model marks the 40th anniversary of the Steve McQueen film, and is the second Bullitt Mustang, following one released in 2001, but this one’s appearance is truer to the film car. Like that model, this Bullitt uses an exclusive “Dark Highland Green” that has only ever appeared on these two versions. Should the colour not be to your liking, your other choice is gloss black, which the company tries to tie into the film by saying it matches the colour of the car driven by the hit-men in the film.

Like McQueen’s car in the film, the Bullitt loses its grille and fender badges, its scoops and spoiler, and sports cast-aluminum Euroflange wheels with matching dark grey calipers to approximate the movie car’s appearance. The Bullitt is actually a package on top of the regular GT Coupe, and adds $4,495 to the base price; put it together and you’ve got $38,494 invested, which feels very reasonable given the car’s performance (and more importantly, its attitude). The only external badge is “Bullitt” written on the car’s fake rear-mounted gas cap (it would have been cool if that could have been turned into the actual filler, but fuel goes in through the standard entrance on the driver’s-side fender).

Other items that help make a Bullitt a Bullitt include a limited-slip rear axle with 3.73:1 ratio, cold air induction system, performance brakes, sport-tuned suspension with firmer shocks, springs and struts, strut tower brace, 3.5-inch exhaust tips, exhaust H-pipe, and a polished aluminum shifter ball. The GT’s 4.6-litre V8 has been goosed with an extra 15 horsepower, for a total of 315 ponies, and while it’s hardly discernable on your daily commute, it’s good for some extra bragging rights. Well, that, plus the fact that only 7,700 were made, with 700 of them intended for Canada.

The story is that Ford engineers used a specially-mastered DVD of the 1968 film – which was originally supposed to have music playing during the entire chase scene, but the engines alone won out – to tune the exhaust note to match. The movie car’s apparent eleven-speed transmission is missing, but this car’s sound is just fantastic.

2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt. Click image to enlarge

There are proponents of all types of muscle cars – the high-revving Japanese monsters, the sophisticated German driving machines and the no-replacement-for-displacement North American – and most people have a preference. Those who adhere to the first two won’t get the Mustang, never mind the Bullitt, but those who love Detroit iron, like I do, will probably never want to hang up the keys. I love the view down the tall hood, the bright dash with its engine-turned pattern, the cue-ball shifter that feels just right, and the GT500-style seats, but most of all, I love turning that key and listening to the roar as the engine fires to life.

The firmer suspension, along with the tower brace, gives considerable improvement to the Mustang’s handling; while it won’t drop the jaws of the Euro-fans, the car feels firmly buttoned-down when tossed into a corner, a single package working together rather than a body on wheels. Once you’re out of the turn and the straightaway beckons, the Bullitt opens up with considerable velocity, and the smooth clutch and perfectly-sized shifter make easy work of running up through the gears. The much-maligned live rear axle does produce some wheel hop on rougher roads, though. The brakes have beefier front pads than the stock version and bring the car down firmly and accurately. Given that I drove it much of the time like there was a black Charger trying to get away from me, my combined 11.5 L/100 km was much better than I expected to achieve as the published figures are 13.8 highway and 8.7 for the city.

2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt. Click image to enlarge

Inside, the Bullitt package differs from the regular GT with the machined swirl instrument panel insert, the sport leather seats, satin aluminum accents on the shifter, sill plate and pedal covers, and the upgraded wheel with “Bullitt” centre (the only badging inside the car). The interior comes in any colour you like, as long as it’s black. My tester was further optioned with an anti-theft system, touch-screen navigation, and a pricy hands-free communication system that was an odd little plastic brick pasted on the side of the centre stack. The supportive seats are all-day comfortable, at least up front; the rear seats have some legroom but it’s not the ideal place to be. All controls are simple and intuitive, a Ford trademark, but the speedometer and tachometer are set so far back in their instrument cluster pods that they’re hard to read at a quick glance. Small items can go into the console box, the dual cupholders or the glovebox, but the door pockets are so small as to be useless.

Then again, this Mustang isn’t really meant to be cluttered up with cell phones and pencils and coffee cups; this is just about the Detroit muscle driving experience, and on that front, the Bullitt delivers in spades. It looks good and it sounds great; it’s 1968 all over again, except that this one handles, stops, and comes with a warranty. I think Steve McQueen would have approved of it. I know for sure that I do.