The 2018 North American International Auto Show, that’s NAIAS for the industry folks, takes place for a week every January when the air blowing through the Motor City is cold, frigid, supercharged and boosted. Some may dispute that this town is the birthplace of the automobile, but it’s been the home to Ford Motor Company and their cross-time rivals doing battle for sales and horsepower supremacy for over a century.
While the mantra of many OEMs at NAIAS is electrified vehicles, autonomous cars, all wrapped around the latest industry catchword – “mobility”, Ford was not afraid to use this event to reveal the 2019 Mustang Bullitt. This iconic nameplate, based on the infamous movie from 1968, and the even more famous chase scene on the streets of San Francisco between Steve McQueen in a Highland Green, 390 powered ’68 Fastback Mustang GT, and two hit men in sinister black ’68 Dodge Charger R/T. This set the standard to this day for what a car chase should be and has been hard to replicate unless the producers and directors throw a bunch CGI voodoo magic into the movie.
Helping to introduce the new 475 horsepower, 5.0L powered 2019 Bullitt Mustang was Molly McQueen, granddaughter to the man, myth, and legend, Steve McQueen. During the unveiling, Molly indicated she never knew her grandfather, but was well aware of his legacy not only of an actor, but the influence the movie “Bullitt” had among car enthusiasts for 50 years. The fact she was reunited to one of the original ’68 Mustangs that was also used in the movie and her father drove was an emotional and touching moment. Not just for her, but any red-blooded car junkie that remembers the first time they saw Bullitt’s legendary chase scene and dreamt of owning a Mustang.
And while this is the Motor City and the town that put the world on wheels, the Blue Oval is not shy to also showcase their latest supercar like Ford GT or the newest Pony Muscle like the 2018 Shelby GT350 and Mustang GT along with their off-road WMD, the supercharged Raptor. Self-driving cars might be in our future, but theirs is a merry band of Ford engineers and marketing gearheads holding out in Dearborn that know the sound of 5.0L at WOT is a symphonic sound that makes one’s hair stand up while the guy in the next lane disappears in the rearview mirror.
With talk of the next Mach1 being an electrified hybrid thing, we’ll still sleep well at night knowing there’s a new Shelby GT500 coming soon. We can’t predict the future for the Mustang, but the Motor City will certainly provide the perfect backdrop for the covers to get pulled off this supercharged, V8 powered machine and lay the gauntlet down to the would be challengers looking to play just down the street on Woodward Ave.
The post Mustangs Ride Into The Motor City appeared first on Hot Rod Network.