Bullitt Mustang May Be Potential Gem With Proper Care
Is this 2008 Bullitt ‘Stang worth buying despite mismatching tires, a damaged steering wheel, and curb rash on the rims?
For 50 years now, Steve McQueen’s iconic Highland Green Mustang Fastback from the iconic film Bullitt has been the quintessentially cool pony car. There are dozens of ’60s-era tribute cars out there. And since 2001, even Ford’s been in on the game. And the Blue Oval’s tributes to Detective Frank Bullitt’s ride have always been exciting. That’s why this 2008 model caught our eye, and the eyes of millions of gearheads on the internet.
At first look, this Bullitt ticks all the right boxes: Highland Green, factory five-spoke wheels, cue ball shift knob, clean interior, and a relatively low 122,000 miles on the clock. However, there are some drawbacks. Namely, mismatching tires, a damaged steering wheel, and curb rash on the rims. The seller, out of Humble Kingwood, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), is asking $11,980 for the car.
This car was so noticeable, in fact, that it ended up in Rob Emslie’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe column on Jalopnik. So how does it fare? Well, not great.
The Jalopnik commentariat skewers the car for its power (315 ponies versus the 2019 model’s 475), its notoriously brittle interior, well-worn driver condition, and the fact that a similarly equipped GT of the era can be had for far less.
Still, the car still has its defenders. Commenter Zombie John sums it all up for us: “It amazes me how these cars drop in price over the years. To everyone claiming this car was/is slow. Maybe. But it’s got enough torque to have a lot of fun, if not put down impressive numbers at the track. In performance cars, the numbers always get better every year, so you may as well forget about the numbers and enjoy what you can get. You could buy the latest and greatest today and next year, it could be old hat. Just ask the guys who bought the fifth gen ZL1s.”
This is a cool/rare car with decent mileage for pretty damn cheap.
Sure, there are S197 GTs out there that come close to a Bullitt. And yes, Ford’s latest tribute to McQueen has a hell of a lot more power. But a Bullitt will always be a Bullitt. They’re incredibly cool, and with just more than 5,700 produced in ’08, they’re getting rarer by the year. Sorry, but we vote “Nice Price.” Then we’d drive it for a while, clean it up and sell it at Barrett-Jackson in 20 years. Chances are we’ll get a lot more than ten-large for it.
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