THE AUTO PAGE
By
John Heilig
- MODEL: 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt
- ENGINE: 5.0-liter V8
- TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual
- HORSEPOWER/TORQUE: 480 hp @ 7,000 rpm/420 lb.-ft. @ 4,600 rpm
- WHEELBASE: 107.1 in.
- LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT: 188.5 x 75.4 x 54.3 in.
- TIRES: P255/40ZR19 (F)/P275/40ZR19 (R)
- CARGO CAPACITY: 13.5 cu. ft.
- ECONOMY: 15 mpg city/24 mpg highway
- FUEL TANK: 16.0 gal.
- CURB WEIGHT: 3,850 lbs.
- TOWING CAPACITY: Not recommended
- COMPETITIVE CLASS: Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger, Nissan Z
- STICKER: $46,595 (base)
- BOTTOM LINE: The Ford Mustang’s latest performance iteration is the Bullitt, created and named in honor of Steve McQueen’s chase car in the movie of the same name. As such, it does offer great performance, but…
They say the Ford Mustang
Bullitt is a Mustang, but the only ponies on the car are on the wheel hubs.
Ford also says it’s a Bullitt, and it says Bullitt all over the place. We owned
a 1965 Mustang, and I miss the appearance of the ponies. I’m sure Lee Iacocca
would have missed them too.
The Bullitt is named after
the Steve McQueen character who drove a Mustang through the streets of San
Francisco in one of the classic movie chase scenes of all time. Under the skin,
this Bullitt is probably faithful to the original, although the exteriors are
different. This version is more muscular looking with a big maw of a grill (no
pony) and much wider tires. It also has Brembo disc calipers at all four
corners that do an excellent job of stopping the car smoothly.
Handling is excellent. The
suspension is firm, but not harsh. We drove the Bullitt on our favorite
hillclimb, but I had to behave because the road is fairly narrow and I
wasn’t sure of what may have been coming the other way.
The real fun may be in
shifting the 6-speed manual transmission. First, there is a positive clutch
that won’t give you leg pains every time you push the left pedal. The shifter
itself is nicely located for short shifts with a 2-inch diameter cue ball on
the top with the shift pattern imprinted. Get up to sixth, and you’ll
eventually have to downshift. The transmission automatically “blips” when you
go down gears. It’s fun.
Of course there’s a caveat.
With the Bullitt’s wide tires and Mustang’s historic reputation for a light
rear end, the Bulitt can be twitchy when the roads are wet. I had a friend
following me for a while after a rain storm and he told me later that he
kept wondering why I was driving what was obviously a hot car so
cautiously.
Front seats are comfortable
with excellent side support. They are semi-automatically adjustable, with power
front and back adjustment but a manual seat back angle adjustment. Rear seat
legroom is sparse, much like our old ’65.
The instrument panel is
clear with a tachometer on the left and speedometer on the right. There’s a
digital speedometer inside the 180 mph analog one, and a shift indicator inside
the tach. Additionally, there’s an information panel in between.
In the middle of the dash is
a fairly standard infotainment screen with the usual options. I was impressed
with how easy it was to program the navigation system. Additionally, there’s a
good audio system and heating/cooling.
Trunk capacity is
surprisingly good. In our ’65 Mustang, cargo capacity was about as sparse as
rear seat legroom, although in both the rear seat backs fold easily to create
extra cargo capacity.
Overall, the Ford Mustang
Bullitt is a fun, fast car to drive. I would have liked to see more Mustang
references (like how much air flow would be reduced by a prancing pony in the
grille?). Bullitts are numbered with a plaque on the dash. Our tester was
MP002, for Manufacturer’s Prototype #2. I wonder what happened to #1?
(c) 2019 The Auto Page Syndicate
THE AUTO PAGE
By
John Heilig
MODEL: 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt
ENGINE: 5.0-liter V8
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual
HORSEPOWER/TORQUE: 480 hp @ 7,000 rpm/420 lb.-ft. @ 4,600 rpm
WHEELBASE: 107.1 in.
LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT: 188.5 x 75.4 x 54.3 in.
TIRES: P255/40ZR19 (F)/P275/40ZR19 (R)
CARGO CAPACITY: 13.5 cu. ft.
ECONOMY: 15 mpg city/24 mpg highway
FUEL TANK: 16.0 gal.
CURB WEIGHT: 3,850 lbs.
TOWING CAPACITY: Not recommended
COMPETITIVE CLASS: Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger, Nissan Z
STICKER: $46,595 (base)
BOTTOM LINE: The Ford Mustang’s latest performance iteration is
the Bullitt, created and named in honor of Steve McQueen’s chase car in the
movie of the same name. As such, it does offer great performance, but…
They say the Ford Mustang
Bullitt is a Mustang, but the only ponies on the car are on the wheel hubs.
Ford also says it’s a Bullitt, and it says Bullitt all over the place. We owned
a 1965 Mustang, and I miss the appearance of the ponies. I’m sure Lee Iacocca
would have missed them too.
The Bullitt is named after
the Steve McQueen character who drove a Mustang through the streets of San
Francisco in one of the classic movie chase scenes of all time. Under the skin,
this Bullitt is probably faithful to the original, although the exteriors are
different. This version is more muscular looking with a big maw of a grill (no
pony) and much wider tires. It also has Brembo disc calipers at all four
corners that do an excellent job of stopping the car smoothly.
Handling is excellent. The
suspension is firm, but not harsh. We drove the Bullitt on our favorite
hillclimb, but I had to behave because the road is fairly narrow and I
wasn’t sure of what may have been coming the other way.
The real fun may be in
shifting the 6-speed manual transmission. First, there is a positive clutch
that won’t give you leg pains every time you push the left pedal. The shifter
itself is nicely located for short shifts with a 2-inch diameter cue ball on
the top with the shift pattern imprinted. Get up to sixth, and you’ll
eventually have to downshift. The transmission automatically “blips” when you
go down gears. It’s fun.
Of course there’s a caveat.
With the Bullitt’s wide tires and Mustang’s historic reputation for a light
rear end, the Bulitt can be twitchy when the roads are wet. I had a friend
following me for a while after a rain storm and he told me later that he
kept wondering why I was driving what was obviously a hot car so
cautiously.
Front seats are comfortable
with excellent side support. They are semi-automatically adjustable, with power
front and back adjustment but a manual seat back angle adjustment. Rear seat
legroom is sparse, much like our old ’65.
The instrument panel is
clear with a tachometer on the left and speedometer on the right. There’s a
digital speedometer inside the 180 mph analog one, and a shift indicator inside
the tach. Additionally, there’s an information panel in between.
In the middle of the dash is
a fairly standard infotainment screen with the usual options. I was impressed
with how easy it was to program the navigation system. Additionally, there’s a
good audio system and heating/cooling.
Trunk capacity is
surprisingly good. In our ’65 Mustang, cargo capacity was about as sparse as
rear seat legroom, although in both the rear seat backs fold easily to create
extra cargo capacity.
Overall, the Ford Mustang
Bullitt is a fun, fast car to drive. I would have liked to see more Mustang
references (like how much air flow would be reduced by a prancing pony in the
grille?). Bullitts are numbered with a plaque on the dash. Our tester was
MP002, for Manufacturer’s Prototype #2. I wonder what happened to #1?
(c) 2019 The Auto Page Syndicate
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