2019 Mustang Bullitt orders open as Ford reveals price and horsepower

Ford has opened order books for the 2019 Mustang Bullitt and confirmed final output for the commemorative-edition GT fastback at 480 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. Ford also confirms starting pricing, which is $47,495, including a $900 destination and delivery fee. Deliveries are expected in late summer.

Ford had previously said the 5.0-liter V8 would make "at least" 475 hp, so the final figure makes good on that and offers 20 more ponies than the 2018 Mustang GT, thanks to a Shelby GT350 intake manifold, 87-mm throttle body and engine tuning. It also boasts a top speed of 163 miles per hour, unchanged from previous projections but an 8 mph improvement over the standard Mustang GT.

By now, you probably are well-versed in the background story behind this car, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 1968 film " Bullitt" and the battered 1968 Mustang GT that Steve McQueen drove in it. And you probably recall that Ford showed the 2019 version and the 1968 stunt car from the film side-by-side at the Detroit Auto Show in January. It's basically impossible to top the coolness of the original, but the 2019 version did make Autoblog's list of NAIAS faves.

It adds several features that were previously options on the Mustang GT, including active exhaust, a performance package that includes red Brembo front brakes, suspension and chassis upgrades and a limited-slip differential, and 19-inch aluminum wheels. It even gets an increasingly rare manual transmission (there's no automatic option), complete with a white cueball knob shifter. A black NitroPlate quad-tip exhaust is standard.

Customers will be able to choose between shadow black and the classic dark highland green, as shown in Detroit. Badging is limited to the faux gas-cap Bullitt logo centered on the rear. The starting price compares with a $35,190 starting MSRP for the 2018 Mustang GT.

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