Without question, the best car chase in any movie happened in 1968 with Frank Bullitt (portrayed by Steve McQueen) in the movie by the same name.......BULLITT. McQueen represented every male's greatest ambition in 1968..........go "head-to-head" with the bad boys in an all out, no holds barred car chase through the streets of a major city, lets say San Francisco, Ca. The opponent is a 1968 Dodge Charger. The chase,
which lasted nine minutes and forty-two seconds, put every male in America on testosterone overload as both cars got air over each hill they flew and, so much so, that moviegoers everywhere felt slightly nauseous just watching the continuous high-speed up and down. After the movie shooting, so much rubber was left on the city streets that the bill for clean up was staggering. The cast of characters other than McQueen included Jacqueline Bisset, Robert DuVall, Robert Vaughn and Don Gordon and directed masterfully by Peter Yates. The movie has been so successful that a cult following has grown and 33 years later, in 2001, the namesake Ford Mustang Bullitt Edition was previewed. But how do you pay homage to two American icons like the Ford Mustang and Frank Bullitt. You combine what they both represented in the movie into a symbolic car.
With that you first need a starting point like making a model from clay in order to visualize the end result. In the case of the Mustang there was already a great model about to be produced and that
was the 2001 Mustang GT. The engineers got together and began
adding the symbolic touches they thought would best represent the true meaning of a man like Frank Bullitt and the type of car
he drove.Hundreds of thousands of dollars later the 2001 Ford Mustang Bullitt Edition was launched to a waiting crowd. For a $3,695 premium the Bullitt had over the stock GT significantly
more horsepower and torque (270hp 305 Lb Ft Torque) with much improved airflow and reduced parasitic loses; twin
57mm bore throttle body; cast aluminum intake manifold; optimized alternator and pump pulley ratios; re-valved Tokico struts and shocks; frame rail connectors; thirteen-inch Brembo front rotors and painted performance calipers that you could see through the great 5-spoke aluminum wheel. Add a brushed
aluminum gas cap and lower the car three-fourths of an inch to generate a firmer, better-balanced ride and improved handling characteristics and you have the Bullitt.
Ford Motor Company realized that since most of the added equipment could eventually be purchased from the Motorsports catalogue that somewhere down the road Ford could end up with two times more than the 5500 or so Bullitts they actually produced. To insure authenticity, Ford engineers added one other secret ingredient. They placed a numbered ID Plaque on the front left shock tower and there is a second (matching)
ID tag hidden somewhere else in the car. Where? No one at the company is saying.
For the actual filming of Bullitt two 1968 Mustang Fastbacks were used from the Warner Brothers fleet for actor Steve McQueen. Once the cars were selected, veteran race driver Max Balchowski was asked to modify the cars for the rigors of the high-speed pursuit scenes. He also added stronger springs, Knoi shocks and fabricated braces for the inner fender wells. In addition he added a little "umph" to the engine for greater top end speed.
After filming was completed, the primary chase car was in such
sad shape that it was sent to the crusher. Two weeks of stunt driving had taken its toll. The remaining Mustang, a less damaged
backup, was sold to an employee of Warner Brothers editing department. In the early 1970's the car was advertised in the classified section of the Los Angeles Times for the then
"pricey" sum of $6,000. A buyer was found and the car eventually made it's way to the East Coast.
The car went up for sale once again, this time in 1974 in an ad in Road & Track Magazine. It's rumored that McQueen himself called the New Jersey phone number with a desire to purchase to car for his own collection. He was told the car had been sold, however, was given the name and phone number
of the buyer. McQueen tried to persuade the new owner to sell but it was all to no avail. The new owner did promise Steve McQueen that he'd call if he ever decided to sell, however, Steve McQueen died in 1980 from lung cancer without ever hearing from the owner. Whenever contacted by potential buyers or the media, the owner has refused offers of publicity or purchase and the car has been in a non-running condition for some time.
The car remained in New Jersey until the mid-1990's when it was moved to a farm in the Ohio River Valley. Parked in a hay barn, the Mustang remains inoperable, still wearing New Jersey tags. A film company recently made an offer to the owner for its use in a motion picture. The owner declined.
The car on this page (Bullitt prototype) is one of about 70 vehicles that were pulled from the Ford Design Studios several years ago and auctioned through Christies Auction House for charity. That
same auction included the famed two seat Ford Mustang III and the Ford Indigo that Jay Leno eventually purchased. This car is Ford's only remaining Bullitt prototype (the original "mule") and
is in complete working order. Please note the steering wheel that did not make it into production nor the a one-of-a-kind hand molded hood which is made of a sheet material that is certainly not good for fuel efficiency since it weighs about 55 pounds by itself.
PS After you've looked at the Bullitt Prototype photos, cursor down, stay a while ,and read about THE CORNFIELD, the re-make of the Steve McQueen legend and his connection to the NEW Mustang.
