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.
NOW! CLICK
HERE to watch 10:47
of the most famous car chase in movie history. Better than "Popeye"
Doyle in The French Connection. You can skip the commercial
in a few seconds BUT DON'T SKIP
THE CHASE.
