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October 14, 2008

Bye Bye Bullitt

Editor-in-Chief

We had to hand over the keys to the Bullitt today. I’m pretty bummed. Here’s my capsule review: I love this car.

I followed the development of the S197 quite closely a few years back, and I think it’s fair to say that Ford knocked it out of the park in 2005. I’ve always wanted a modern V8 Mustang, and our week with one just made me even more determined. Only, now I don’t think I’d be happy with a GT. I want a Bullitt.

I often hear people complain that Mustangs are common (Mopar guys tend say this a lot). I never saw that as an issue. Common means affordable with great aftermarket support and great parts availability. But the Bullitt is a rare car. It’s one of just 7,700 (5,600 were built for 2008, the remainder will be build for 2009).

Rare doesn’t make this car special, though. What makes it special is the Steve McQueen myth, and of course that beautiful Highland Green. I really wish that Ford had made this color an option on the GT, but they saved it for the Bullitt. I probably don’t have to waste time telling you what else is different about the Bullitt. I’m sure you read all the same stuff I read back in March when the car came out. Yeah, CarDomain is a bit late to the whole car review game, and we’re late to the Bullitt. But better late than never. Continue reading…

Honestly, we didn’t really have much in the way of the plan when we got this car. Yeah, I guess we could have driven it down to San Francisco caught air on some hills (heck, I did that in my old ‘70 Fury when I lived there). Mostly we just took every opportunity to get out of the office and thrash the thing around town. And then we took turns thrashing on it at night.

John got the Jag for the weekend, so I took the Bullitt for this past weekend (Jen has already called dibs on the R/T Challenger that we are getting in November). I flogged it around Seattle on Saturday, and on Sunday I took the family out to the pumpkin patch in Redmond to get our Halloween pumpkins. Then we headed out to Snoqualmie to rumble around a bit.

It took me a few days to realize that you don’t have to drive this car like a total maniac all the time. The Bullitt can do sedate. In fact, it cruises quite peacefully on the freeway in 5th gear, spinning at a tad over 2,000 rpm between 65 and 70 mph. The exhaust is quite muted, too.

About the exhaust. I actually was expecting it to be a bit louder, and was a bit disappointed at first. The Flowmasters on my Satellite are a lot louder. But over the course of the week I decided the Bullitt’s exhaust was just the right balance between burly and civilized. In fact, that kind of sums up how I feel about the car.

The ergonomics are first rate. The front buckets strike a nice balance between the old school buckets in my Satellite and some of the overly engineered and supportive seats you find in the higher dollar luxury imports. The Bullitt get the leather wrapped wheel with the little thumb notches, and it feels great. The dash just looks cool. Big and bulky, just the way I like it. And that machined aluminum shifter is just perfect for this car.

I was pleasantly surprised by the back seat. It’s not easy to get back there, but once you’re there, it’s actually quite comfortable. Or at least, it was for me, and I’m 5′ 11". John is around 6′ 3" and was a bit more cramped in back. The back seat also handled my five yearold daughter’s car seat quite well. She loved it back there.

I heard some of the usual complaints around the office about the quality of interior materials. I kind of like it that way, actually. The Mustang is not supposed to be a luxury car. And it’s a lot like the original. Anyway, most of the people who complain about the interior materials on a Mustang wouldn’t buy one anyway, so screw them.

The exterior is pretty much perfect. I love the understated, sleeper look. But I’m still not sure I like 18 inch wheels on this car. I think 17s with more sidewall look tougher.

I love how the car handles. The suspension is just firm enough, the steering feels solid and precise, and it’s really easy to kick the rear out under throttle (perhaps a little too easy when it’s raining). The live rear axle is definitely noticeable on uneven pavement, especially when pushing hard around corners. But I know that this has been addressed by the aftermarket, so I won’t belabor the point. What else? The gearing is perfect, the shifter and clutch are rock solid.

Basically, this is a car that just begs to be driven hard, and it’s built to take a beating. If you haven’t driven a manual V8 Mustang you really owe it to yourself to try it out. It’s a totally different experience than the slushbox V6 rental cars. And if you are lucky enough to get your hands on a Bullitt, you’ll probably start wanting one as badly as me.

Given the how bad things have been for Detroit recently, it’s something of a miracle that this car happened at all. It is truly the second coming, and you can thank Ford for the new Challenger and Camaro. So now I’m really curious to drive the R/T Challenger next month. Will the IRS make it it handle that much better than the Mustang? Will I care? Will 5.7 Hemi trump Ford’s 4.6? Or will the Mopar seem like a big porky slob in comparison? Stay tuned…

Permalink:

Posted at 5:01 pm in 2008, Bullitt, Ford, Mustang, test cars

Comments

Cullen
Feb 11, 2009 at 8:26 pm

I agree completely man, the bullitt is sweet. I work at a ford dealership and i probably wouldn’t buy a regular mustang gt just because i think an evo, sti, or ls1 trans am/camaro are nicer, but the bullitt just has that bad ass sleeper look and are def. a blast to drive. Also they come with 3.55 rear ends whereas the regular gt’s come stock with 3.23 (i believe). Awesome, awesome car.

mike
Jan 28, 2009 at 5:16 pm

cont. from before a bullitt on the a car lot, I fell in love with the dark highland green and I had never seen anything like it. I now own 2008 4546, and I think it’s the hottest mustang on the street.

mike
Jan 28, 2009 at 5:15 pm

You know when I heard about the bullitt for the first time, it didn’t sound impressive. I didn’t even follow the bullitt cult at all, however I kept harping on the idea of purchasing a mustang when I had the money. A buddy of mine said, hey why don’t you get a bullitt. He explained it was a base model mustang, very stock on the outside. It didn’t even sound impressive when I first heard about it….and honestly I wasn’t interested. So about 7 months later…. cont.

mark
Nov 15, 2008 at 12:36 am

yyyyyyyyyyyyooooooooooooo wwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaatttttttsssssss uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuupppppppppppppppppp ccccccccccccccaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrddddddddddddooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

mark
Nov 15, 2008 at 12:35 am

yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttttttttssssssssssss uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuppppppppppppppppppppppp

Anonymous
Nov 12, 2008 at 2:20 am

I also agree with Zigfreid, what ever happened to the awesome looking 2001 Cobras, man those things are my favorite. I also would like something more sporty, and Ford needs to step up their engine packages instead of having to go from Ford mustang to Saleen mustangs.

anton malherbe
Nov 9, 2008 at 11:42 am

Very nice,but i agree with Zigfreid regarding spoilers,different rims and bodykit etc…..

BullittOwner
Oct 21, 2008 at 11:25 pm

i love that anonymous post talking about the retards who said Wow a mustang! same thing goes for a charger, or a civic, or an integra. I have #2076 of the first production run of BULLITT’s and they will eat you alive. don’t hate because you dont have one. i’d also like to commend you for the review. you pretty much summed it up in response to the people who complain about the materials of the new mustangs. THEY’RE MUSTANGS! they’re barebones sports car that aren’t made to be anything else. hell, they even come with bare keys. every new ford will have a 3d ford logo on the key but a mustang will have plain black plastic with the ford logo cut into it. i hop you get one. i would like a new one but i want a black one like my ‘01 BULLITT. you should take one for a spin if you get a chance.

Zigfreid
Oct 21, 2008 at 2:40 am

Love the idea of the Bullitt, although, as novel as it may be, I’m not a sleeper car kind of guy. Gimme some emblems. Gimme some rims that don’t look just like the GT’s, and some skirts, spoiler, and different front and rear bumpers so it doesn’t look like a V6. I want to hear it roar when I put my foot down. And who else is a fan of the scoop/louvers on the rear quarter windows?

Korey
Oct 19, 2008 at 3:37 pm

The bullitt is a steal. To do all those mods to a normal gt would cost a lot more than the $2500-$3000 bullitt package and the highland green is only available on the bullitt… and it wouldn’t be a bullitt.

Korey
Oct 19, 2008 at 3:35 pm

Haha, you funny ricers attacking the rarity of the mustang. Newsflash, your cars are pretty common too… silly ricers, musclecars are for men.

Gotta love my bullitt!

john
Oct 19, 2008 at 6:23 am

I walked into my local ford dealer to buy a pickup truck the bullitt
was dead center showroom floor,my 5 year old son and I had to have it
and now we do previous owner of a 911, 396 nova 65 ss.the Bullitt
is an awesome fun toy for a very cheap price

Jack Westmoreland
Oct 19, 2008 at 2:36 am

This not just a Mustang. First thing, there is nothing on the car that says Mustang. No Pony on the grill, no emblems. Even the steering wheel and sill plates say Bullitt and not Mustang. While you can mod a GT with most of the same performance features it will end up costing much more. Even then, several things are only available on the Bullitt such as the Dash panel, the serial number plate on the strut bar, and the dual tune feature. It also uses the Shelby GT500 differental and seats. Not the standard GT. This car provides “more bang for the buck” then anything out there. This car is much closer to being a Shelby then a GT.

Bill Birch
Oct 19, 2008 at 12:12 am

I appreciate your review (your candor was spot on and funny) and know first hand how nice this car. Hope you get one.

Matt
Oct 18, 2008 at 5:32 pm

I got to see one in person a couple of weeks back and I love the sleeper look.

Paul
Oct 17, 2008 at 7:08 pm

Got one. Love it! Waiting SO long for Ford to build it that when it was announced I called my dealer weekly to harass and then ordered one.

Love it!

Anonymous
Oct 17, 2008 at 8:47 am

LOL I love that “WOW! A Mustang! Not like I see one on every block.”

Same goes for most imports too: “WoW! A Civic!”, “Wow an STI!”, “WOW! An EVO!” I can go all day. Just cause you see a Mustang doesnt mean they are all the same jackass. The point is the different style and history with the BULLIT. Its NOT a Shelby but it still gives enough option to make it something a collector or true Mustang fan would want to have. Great review.

Sim
Oct 16, 2008 at 12:24 am

Guess it was fun while it lasted.

Anonymous
Oct 15, 2008 at 10:51 pm

The Bullitt is basically a Shelby GT without the aggressive suspension. Definitely an upgrade from the standard GT. The reason it doesn’t cost a ton more than a normal GT Premium is because most options that up the price on the GT are not available on the Bullitt – since the Bullitt offers its own equipment in one complete package. A GT/CS (California Special) will go for 31-33k, which is exactly the same as a Bullitt. I work at a Ford dealer and we have a loaded GT Premium that is 33k. Right now they sell for list or less – depends on the dealer and if they have had the car for awhile. They were hot when they were first introduced and a lot were sold, but now the novelty has worn off and the economy is killing fun cars in general, so more are sitting on lots. I would sell you one right now at list in a heartbeat.

Bryan
Oct 15, 2008 at 8:05 pm

There’s a least ten Mustangs that park in my high schools parking lot. Mustang is a caommon car where I live (Hollywood, Fl). Besides school, I see at least a dozen mustangs or more in my neighborhood just rollin around.

XTZTwinTurbo
Oct 15, 2008 at 6:44 am

Wow! a Mustang! What a rare vehicle, that I rarely see on the road… Not like I ever see one ever block or so….

Anonymous
Oct 15, 2008 at 12:53 am

I at first wasn’t impressed with how the car looked, but after going to the dealership and seeing what’s offered performance-wise on the car……its pretty good…especially for the price of a regular GT. Man they give you a cold-air intake, sway bar, and 3.73 gears. You really can’t beat that and they still sell for around $32,000.

Anonymous
Oct 14, 2008 at 11:52 pm

to me it seems like all it has are extra aftermarket features that you could easily put on a regular GT. idk if i would shell out a few extra thousands for just a Bullitt badge, an extra 15 hp, and a few added aftermarket accesories…

Rob
Oct 14, 2008 at 10:21 pm

Here are the details on the Bullitt listed the Ford site:
http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/mustang/modeldetail/index.asp?nModelID=9152&nTrimID=760

Nes
Oct 14, 2008 at 9:37 pm

Great review Rob!!! Now I want one!!!

Anonymous
Oct 14, 2008 at 8:23 pm

Great review, however whats so different between the Bullitt and the GT?