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Mustang Shelby GT500 was Ford’s one more thing at NAIAS

“When making a Bullitt, there are certain things it absolutely must have”, said Carl Widmann, Mustang’s chief engineer.

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Ford’s massive Lincoln Navigator SUV won, incongruously, in the truck category – helping the United States automaker in its battle against rivals GM and Fiat Chrysler for truck and SUV sales. It is paired to a six-speed manual transmission. For the sake of this story, it’s important to mention that said bad guys drove a 1968 Dodge Charger. This version will have a Bullitt welcome screen that starts in green with an image of the auto rather than the pony.

Slated as a 2019 model, the new Mustang Shelby GT500 will be “loaded with the most venom ever”, said Ford. In 2008 and 2009, the vehicle returned for a short production run, and quickly disappeared. They originally found it listed for sale in the October 1974 issue of Road and Track with its name misspelled: “1968 Bullett Mustang driven by McQueen in the movie”.

In other green-car news from Sunday’s truck-heavy event was a 2020 arrival date for the Ford F-150 Hybrid full-size pickup truck, slightly later than promised by then-CEO Fields a year ago. This is, in our humble opinion, a mistake: not only is Highland Green a superb color to behold, but it’s a hue that’s intrinsic to the model, as it has been since Bullitt premiered five decades ago. It has a total of 475 horsepowers and a torque of 420 pounds-feet.

The announcement came on on the heels of Ford reintroducing its midsize pickup in the Ranger and another classic Mustang edition in the Bullitt. Other cool and unique touches consist of the MagnaRide adjustable suspension and Recaro seats. This may be less than you have expected from this Bullitt.

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“For us, it’s among the most historically significant cars of the last 100 years”, Mr. Gessler said. It just wouldn’t be a Bullitt Mustang without the cue-ball shifter. Why that school in particular, you ask? On the eve of the show, it was revealed to Molly McQueen, the granddaughter of Steve McQueen, for the very first time. Also known as Frank Bullitt.

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