Special edition vehicles should be exactly that. They should offer something exceptional enough to tempt you to dig deeper in your pocket and drive away in a vehicle that's, well, special. “Investment” and historical issues aside, the Mustang Shelby GT didn’t provide a look and feel that justified the massive amount of extra coin demanded by dealers. By the same token, The Bullitt Mustang succeeds. It’s truly a unique set of wheels.
It’s easy to miss/dismiss the Bullitt Mustang as a Secretary’s Special. The Bullitt eschews all the fake hood scoop and plastic louver jewelry associated with modded ‘Stangs. The Ford style team stripped all chrome and badging from the GT’s exterior, deleted the spoiler. They added a satin aluminum grill surround (in honor of the ‘68’s chrome bumper), a Bullitt badge on the trunk lid and dark grey Bullitt “Torq Thrust” wheels. And called it good.
In either the standard Highland Green, or Satin Black, the Bullitt Mustang echoes the subdued style of the 1968 movie car as closely as the D2C platform and modern dynamics allow. The only aesthetic imperfection: the trunk doesn’t allow a true “fastback” rear end. In fact, it renders a slight “cat in heat” rear-in-the-air look. (Thank God for the subdued paint.)
Taken as a whole, the Ford Mustang GT Bullitt oozes understated cool. Forsaking Roush-style flash prevalent in Ford’s other special edition Mustangs, the Bullitt Mustang channels the aura of Lieutenant Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen). In your mind’s eye, you can see the Bullitt Mustang laying in wait, ready to pounce on any black Charger that speeds by in the hills of San Francisco…
The interior design team mistook understatement for underdevelopment. On the positive side, they nabbed the highly-bolstered and supremely comfortable seats from the GT500. On the negative side, everything else. To wit: the lame-looking plastic Bullitt badge on the steering wheel . The dash boasts aluminum trim from a Starbucks countertop. The dashboard itself feels as brittle and old as the stone steps of ancient Petra. Ford doesn’t give you the upgraded stitched leather top; it’s a major omission on a special edition.
The Bullitt’s Shaker 500 stereo pumps out Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” with teeth-rattling base, but sounds slightly weak when screeching out Celine Dion’s latest (don’t ask me how I know that). Ford’s standard green-toothpick digital display dominates the center console. (Oh for the chrome-knobbed stereo of 1968!) The leather-covered seats are fashioned from a higher grade of cow than the abysmal standard interior, but you’re still left wondering if the material came from a bovine or an oil field.
Never mind. The sound the Bullitt Mustang’s 315bhp (15bhp more than stock) 4.6-liter V8 makes rivals Alfa Romeo’s aural porn. The ‘Stang’s mill is soft and burbly at idle. Press the hammer down and the powerplant erupts into a tirade violent enough to make presidential candidates shut up and take notice (not to mention the Secret Service’s adrenalin rush). Ford says it spent $10m revising the Bullitt’s exhaust note to mimic Steve McQueen’s ’68 fastback. If Ford spent every $10m to such great effect, bankruptcy rumors would cease to exist.
And yes, it’s fast. Coupled with a GT500 3:73 shortened rear axle ratio, the Bullitt launches to 60mph with tire smoking squeal and axle tramp (just like the movie!) in five seconds flat.
The machined aluminum shifter knob connected to a close-ratio, short-shift Tremec five-speed adds to the excitement. Smooth, quick and assuring, the shifter puts Hurst’s Shelby GT stick-in-sand shifter to absolute shame. Ford also included machined aluminum pedals positioned to facilitate heel and toeing– providing you’re wearing large shoes.
Ford borrowed many of the Shelby GT’s suspension components to liven-up, I mean “improve,” the standard GT’s handling. Turn-in defies the muscle car mass, and progressive feedback provides driving thrills all the way up to about eight tenths. Then the Bullitt shows how heavy it really is, yells uncle and steps the rear end out in smokey, Hollywood tail-slide glory.
The Bullitt’s ride quality sacrifices those extra two-tenths of handling ability to offer some daily usability. The ride of the Mustang Bullitt mimics not the original 1968 movie car, but a 2003 BMW 5-series. The Bullitt bounces dramatically only over the worst patches of interstate. Ford also skimped on the brakes to keep the price down. They stop long and fade quickly compared to the Bullitt’s competitors.
While not quite perfect, the Mustang GT Bullitt edition comes as close as the current body style allows. The Mustang Bullitt does more than the Shelby GT, with more style and some $6K less wedge. It echoes the original character of not only the movie car but the King of Cool himself. Aside from the tatty interior, the Ford Mustang GT Bullitt is what all Mustangs should be.
68 Comments on “2008 Ford Mustang GT Bullitt Review...”
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Thanks for the test Mike, I really like that car
I hope, for our economy that I am in the minority, but I would not buy anything right now with that kind of gas mileage.
It’s too bad that the only good cars Ford builds are ’special’ ones sold in limited numbers. And people wonder why Ford is broke.
Of all of the special editions of the Mustang, this is the only one done completely right.
Finally.
Too bad about the interior and the lousy economy (as another poster said), but I’d love a car like this. This Mustang does look right. So much so that even though I’m no fan of green cars, this one looks cool in green.
With the new Charger and Camaro coming out I sure hope that for the sake of Ford’s future, they don’t botch the redesign.
On a side note, could this car manage a four-pot and still have day-to-day drivability (a smidgeon of performance)? Or is it just too heavy?
That’s a really good-looking mustang right there. Would be even hotter as a fastback.
And yes, it’s likely to be a disappearing breed -again- when gas hits $4 a gallon.
I thought the Mustang would be toast when the Camaro and Challenger came out because of the Mustangs cheapo interior, but now that we’ve seen the parts bin interior of the Challenger and the spy photos of the oh so ugle Camaro interior, the Mustang should be all right.
PS: If you hate the turned aluminum on the dash, you should see what the dash looks like plain!
luv the crossbrace in the engine compartment, memories of old mustangs there.
The real buyers of this car will be the 50 somethings looking for a toy, and there is nothing wrong with that,
Hey!!! What else can you ask for a factory installed short ram intake, strutt bars etc etc.
what do you expect on a gas mileage on this kind of a car of course it’s like drinking softdrink but still it’s a Mustang.
Does it still have a live rear axle or did they throw in independent rear suspension?
I never understood the live rear axle thing in a rear wheel drive car, seems a bit, umm, unsafe.
I still don’t think it’s worth the extra $$$ for this “special” version.
I think America is ready now for the Probe, the Mustang replacement. Lighter, better gas mileage, etc. Too bad it was introduced 15 years too early.
geoff03:
I never understood the live rear axle thing in a rear wheel drive car, seems a bit, umm, unsafe.
It is my understanding that there are three reasons:
1. Cost
2. The tuner crowd likes to fiddle with it
3. Cost
Regardless of what anyone can say, this is automotive excellence. No frills, just good looks, great sounds, and decent total performance, all at a relatively low price.
Me likes.
Live axles are cheap to make and are damn near impossible to break in the Mustang’s natural habitat: the drag strip. It isn’t a bad idea when you ask import racers how much they love replacing snapped axle shafts on their drag stars.
Nice review, Captain! But aluminum trim from a Starbucks? We need to show some love for the same engine-turned (effect) trim used by Smokey and the Bandit Trans Ams back in the 1970s!
Not wanting to sneak a QOTD in from the side, but: What Car Would Frank Bullitt Drive (…if he were around here today)?
A natty, irreverent detective in SF who listens to jazz music with his English girlfriend: I don’t think Bullitt would have a Bullitt. More likely, a Subaru or a 1-series or a GTI?
Excellent review, Capt Mike. But I think nostalgia isn’t reason enough to drive a nostalgic car.
Sweet review, sweet car… that Shaker 500 is terrible though (despite the gaudy numbers on paper). Lots of muddy bass, terrible highs…
Question: if the car didn’t look so cool, is it still worth the price premium over the standard GT? Are the handling benefits substantial enough?
Also, when is TTAC gonna review the regular Mustang GT, I thought Sajeev did one awhile ago but I can’t find it in the archives so maybe I imagined it.
I think America is ready now for the Probe, the Mustang replacement. Lighter, better gas mileage, etc. Too bad it was introduced 15 years too early.
I’ve always liked Ford Mustangs, and a fuel-efficient version would be great. The only thing is, the Probe wasn’t that pretty, and the FWD is an issue. Same issue with the Mustang II. I think they should make a Fox II chassis, with reduced NVH and a more powerful base four-cylinder engine. Make it look like the ‘94-04 models, and I think you’d have a good Mustang. Hope they make something nice soon, this bodystyle is old and dated with today’s fuel economy.
$10 million for the friggin' exhaust note? Fiscal sanity has left the building.
IF 15k sales, that is $667 per vehicle which could have been used to improve the interior. I doubt if ONE extra sale will occur due to the exhaust note…most buyers will have already made up their minds by looking at it. Can't imagine even one dude blowing off a salesman by saying.."Nope…I WAS gonna buy it, but the exhaust note is just sucky."
That $10 million is why Ford and the rest of the D2.8 will be bankrupt or bought out by 2015….as a beancounter myself, I know what happens when vehicle design has too much emphasis on financial constraints….great vehicles do not result. However, when some fiscal discipline is not involved, the same thing happens, AND companies do not survive.
If the $10 mill had been prudently invested in a tangible, measurable improvement in drivability or performance or comfort or safety, as a finance and business professional, I would be applauding Ford and rooting for this vehicle. Because the cheddar was wasted on something so lamely subjective and non-value added,
I find the car, good as it may be, somewhat lessened. As a former shareholder of Ford, I am appalled at the fiscal irresponsibility.
Sajeev,
My neighbor has the Bandit Trans-Am. God what a absolutely horrible/incredibly awesome car. I forgot about the dash until you reminded me. But when I was writing the review… at Starbucks… I ordered a Triple Grande, Skinny, Light Caramel Machiato (with no whip), looked down, and saw the Mustang Dashboard underneath my cup. I had to include it!
P.S. Steve McQueen laughs at your LeMons Lincoln! My Audi Quattro will eat it alive! (and some differentials as we found out…..)
Martin,
I agree that nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake doesn’t make for a good car. But if you take away any association with the movie “Bullitt”, this modded ‘Stang still comes off as just a plain, good Mustang. Its what the GT should have been from the start.
P.S. If Steve McQueen were alive today, I see him in a Ford F-150 FX4. Might not handle like the ‘Stang, but still has the same character….
Great review – it makes me wonder if parts will be available to perform the conversion on a regular GT.
I doubt $10m was truly invested in the exhaust note, because as autoacct points out that just doesn’t make sense.
I can report that, on the reliability front, the current generation Mustang seems to be about bulletproof (no pun intended). Owners are reporting very few repairs on the 2006 and 2007.
http://www.truedelta.com/reliability.php
autoacct628 : I doubt many potential buyers would be turned off if the exhaust note wasn’t amazing, but I think you’re looking at it wrong. Think about how many people that were on the fence might be turned ON by the exhaust note, making it the factor that tips the scales towards buying a Mustang over a Camaro or Challenger. I’m a Chevy driver myself, but I can’t deny that my 6.0L LS2 has nothing sound-wise on a Stang V8. If this sells for $35k per car, they only need to sell 286 of them to make back that $10 mil in revenue (I’m aware that $10mil in revenue is nowhere close to $10mil in profit, but you get the point)
There is nothing about this vehicle, in comparison to a bone stock Mustang, that is worth $10M in R&D. Nothing.
Entire tuning companies don’t spend 1/100th of that cooking up custom cars for customers where the modified part count far far exceeds what the Bullet blings up.
Even in the most Byzantine bureaucracy, this project shouldn’t take 2-3 engineers and as many supply chain boffins 2-3 months to “develop” (read, change the finish spec and source some aftermarket bits).
Of course, it is Ford, so anything is possible. That they would brag about spending $10M on tuning an exhaust should be a wake-up call to any of the company’s shareholders.
“I never understood the live rear axle thing in a rear wheel drive car, seems a bit, umm, unsafe.”
“Live axles are cheap to make and are damn near impossible to break in the Mustang’s natural habitat: the drag strip.”
And the biggest reason for live rear axles is that they largely eliminate the unsolvable problem in IRS cars: Axle hop. Axle hop elimination is the easiest and cheapest way of improving ET’s.
I sincerely hope the CHallengers and Camaros can succeed in this market, given the insurmountable disadvantages of their IRS.
I’d buy the car just for the exhaust note. But then, that’s me.
Just a question. I’m not familiar with live axle setups, is it always the case that a live axle will snap the rear end up like crazy when braking?
I watched a show that had video of this and the GT500 and it always seemed like the side to side roll was under control but as soon as you brake it dives like crazy.
The exhaust note may actually be the best thing about the Mustang. It has always been a strong point regardless of how we might feel about the rest of the car.
Qusus: Here is the review, keep in mind I have one in the Mehta’s Mustang corral and I call it the Yacht model.
Other things:
1. Betcha that Bullitt exhaust note is straight from the FRPP catalog. If the guys at Ford Racing spent $10m on that catback exhaust, they dined on caviar and Dom Perignon during the course of that project.
2. Mercury needs the modern-day Probe to go with their more feminine persona. Remember which demographic really scooped up those rides back in the 1990s…
3. If all GTO’s axle hop like the one I tested, the Mustangs live axle is just fine by me.
4. That engine turned aluminum trim wasn’t part of the original Mustang, nor the Bullitt. This is a pure Pontiac throwback, but it works in this application. Heaven forbid the G8 uses that stuff when it arrives.
5. The automotive aftermarket will have all these Bullitt goodies for any 2005+ Mustang. Badges, exhaust, trim, etc. I’d get a regular GT and grab a Mustang enthusiast magazine.
shrique: uneven pavement while cornering/braking sends live axles shaking. OEMs rarely do it right: after market panhard bars, watts-link, etc upgrades keep a live axle planted quite well. Its still not as smooth as IRS, but go for a spin in a Griggs-tuned Mustang and you will see the light.
The Bullitt’s Shaker 500 stereo pumps out Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” with teeth-rattling base, but sounds slightly weak when screeching out Celine Dion’s latest (don’t ask me how I know that).
Dude.
I suggest $10 million be spent on putting the drive train and chassis setup of a Sierra Cosworth RS500 in the Mustang body.
anyone can just plant their foot on the throttle over a quarter mile, bends are much more fun.
At least fix the brakes.
I wonder why in the movie Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift they used an old Mustang to drift against a Nissan Fairlady.
Actually a lot of American Drifters used mustangs to drift in D1 competition.
Axel problem on a Mustang just don’t add up.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=MUSTANG+DRIFTING&search_type=
Just check this out
I love the exterior of this car…hate the interior.
As for the exhaust, if it is bought by a Mustang enthusiast you can just about gaurantee they are going to swap it out for something else.
It would be nice to see a crop of smaller RWD 4cyl. coupes crop up…Hyundai looks like they will be the first with one which is a surprise.
I can’t believe that you mentioned both this car and Celine Dion in the same review.
Strippo and Mud,
It was on the radio when I got in… I swear!
I listen to Jimi Hendrix “The Experience” in my Audi Quattro…. permanently…. because it won’t eject the disk…..
It’s a pity this car isn’t just the regular Mustang GT.
Companies should put their best effort forward as the mainstream car, not make use pay for it as a more expensive special edition – particularly when we’re not talking about the difference between a 328i and M3 here.
Anyone remember the MkIV GTI? It was not a good car…If you ponied up for the MkIV R32 or the special edition 337 model, then it was truly enjoyable. VW did it right with the MkV GTI by making the mainstream version their best effort (better than the R32 in this case).
It’s one thing to want to keep the base price down, but it’s wholly another to just deprive people of a superior product.
Justin,
The Ferrari F430 Scuderia is another example, and the Aston Martin DBS vs. DB9, the Porsche GT3 RS vs the GT3… it goes on and on!
@Martin
“Not wanting to sneak a QOTD in from the side, but: What Car Would Frank Bullitt Drive (…if he were around here today)?”
Anybody remebering the Ford Puma? It was a Fiesta-based coupe Ford had in Europe in the late 90s. The TV ads for it featured a digitally resurrected McQueen.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iAlklV5TZrE
1968 Ford Mustang Bullitt GT390 and its latest The Bullitt Mustang is an icon in the world of classic american cars.
This car is just another version of the GT390 an American Icon. compared to Mazda Protege now called Mazda 3 and 6
If I had to step up from a base v-6 ’stang, this is the only one I would consider. I dislike all the other ’special’ mustangs or the regular GT.
I have an LS2 GTO that averages 17-19mpg in city traffic on my daily commute. My friends with current Mustang GTs also average about the same per tank.
If you do the math you really aren’t saving a whole lot of money (unless you drive really really far) passing on a muscle car like this for a car that average 23mpg in city traffic like most FWD appliance sedans on our roads today.
I think the satifaction of owning a car like this (Smiles Per Gallon) is also worth it’s weight in gold (and greenbacks).
As per the exhaust, on the ‘International Mustang Bullitt Owners Club’ (www.imboc.com), someone posted that they took apart their exhaust and found that the $10m modification is nothing more than a baffle with a small hole installed in the crossover pipe. It probably has the louder mufflers from the GT350, too, though.
As per the price for the Bullitt package, it’s actually quite a good deal. A GT Premium Mustang with the GT trim items that are included with the Bullitt package takes it to within something like $1500 of the price of a Bullitt.
The Bullitt Mustang is easily worth an additional $1500 over the price of an equivalently priced GT Premium Mustang.
Re: expensive exhaust noises
Reportedly when the Mazda Miata was originally designed, an immense number of exhausts were tried and rejected until Miata engineers achieved just the perfect exhaust note. I wonder what this cost in today’s dollars.
I have looked under the hood on numerous BMW M-3s and M5’s and admired the nice work on the subwoofers (subwoofers!) that are engineered to enhance the exhaust sounds.
So it doesn’t strike me as particularly noteworthy that Ford spent a hunk on the Bullit’s exhaust sound
I have always been smitten with the Bullitt Mustang concept for its stealthness.
In fact when the new Mustang came out in 2005 I purchased the closest thing I could get to it in look and color—Mineral Grey (greenish grey), no sopiler, no boy racer add-ons—as stealth as I could get it.. Now that the “real” Bullitt is out—-it is really making me think I have some news to break to the wife.
I do have to laugh when writers go on about gas consumption and efficient little motors. It’s like saying Dolly Parton would be more efficient if she were a 34b cup.She’d be an old Keira Knightley .Cars like this you buy for the V8 rumble and the style. This car is the anti-Corolla and at a good price, too.
Party on, Bullitt!
I remember seeing that Puma ad when I was in Europe, circa 2000. I remember thinking “Bullitt in what amounts to a Ford Ka? Really? But this review (and comments) really show how far we’ve come from our stereotype-laden past. If ‘Stang loving, red blooded military types like our Captain Solo listen to Celine Dion and order Starbucks drinks requiring more than three adjectives, then why not put Bullitt in a Puma!
I kid of course. The Bullitt is the only latter-day Mustang that’s ever really appealed to me. It’s great to hear that it drives as well as it looks driving by.
On the exhaust note, uh note. While nobody is going to say “I was going to buy it but that exhaust note is horrible”, they might say something like, “Whoahohohoho!” when the car is started up, if it has a good exhaust note. I remember the first time I heard the sound of the “New” Mustang GT in a parking lot. The sound when that car started up brought a smile to my face and lust to my heart. If they really did nail the sound of a ‘68 Mustang with the new Bullitt edition Mustang, I’m sure it sounds even better (I own a ‘68 Mustang, and they do sound nice, IMO).
On the other hand, count me in the WTF camp regarding the metallic dash. I like fiddling with older cars and I’m pretty sure that any suspension mods that they made wouldn’t be too difficult or expensive to do myself. I’d look into after market parts to see just how much it would cost me to start with a Mustang GT and make a Bullitt Mustang sans the truck bumper dash rather than buy an “actual” Bullitt Mustang.
From a rear suspension geometry standpoint, a live axle CAN (not necessarily IS, but can) be designed with greater anti-squat and less axle tramp than an IRS. It depends in part on how the rear end is sprung and how well it’s located. A lot of vintage muscle cars had serious problems with axle tramp unless you resorted to adding traction bars or other tricks. (Older Mopars, for instance, had Hotchkiss drive with the axle mounted closer to the leading edge of the leaf springs. On hard acceleration the front side of the spring, being shorter, was effectively stiffer than the rear, acting kind of like a poor man’s traction bar; the consequence, however, was that in braking the rear end would hop around like mad.)
A live axle is not a liability on the drag strip or even on a smooth race track. Where it sucks is in the real world on uneven pavement, where the lack of independent wheel motion and the high unsprung weight become problems.
I don’t know what Frank Bullitt would drive today, but Steve McQueen would probably have a stable of cars, trucks, and bikes. A look through Jay Leno’s garage could probably tell you what Steve McQueen would drive. I’m sure he would have a Porsche 911 of some type, a Ford GT for sure, and, I’m pretty sure he would have a Chevy truck, afterall, he did have a ‘58 Chevy Fleetside in his collection that was sold last year, I believe. Other than that, he would probably have a number of other performance cars and at least a handful of bikes from various generations.