Beautiful cars. It's painful to watch these old guys just putt putt around on the track but still cool nonetheless: Bullitt recreated: 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback vs Dodge Charger R/T 440 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-gFO17UNb0%5C).
IMO the nod goes to the then new-for-1968 Dodge Charger - more power, beefier platform, more upscale (but also more expensive). Rumors abound the Mustang needed engine and handling mods to keep pace with the Charger. And goddamn, that Charger looks incredible.
Man those Chargers were beautiful
That was a bit awkward at the end.
It's damn nice to see a Charger not painted like the General Lee. Those black and yellow Cal plates were also a nice touch. 440 mid size vs. 390 pony car- draw?
Check out pure stock drags (https://www.youtube.com/user/PureStockDrags/videos). The cars are mostly all stock. Great stuff. Anyway, couldn't find '68 Mustang GT vs. '68 Charger R/T but in general the 440 Magnum-powered B-body (Charger, Road Runner, GTX, Super Bee, etc.) is very tough to beat (this class is typically dominated by Hemi-powered B-bodies). The Charger was the heaviest of the B-bodies as it could be outfitted with the most options (leather, power windows, etc.) but even so a 390 Mustang isn't going to win unless the Charger was saddled with 3.23 gears or something crazy. By the time the Mustang got a competitive motor in the 429 Cobra Jet, it was 1971, and the heyday was at a close.
Here's the closest I could find. Even with the larger 428 the B-body still wins out:
Round 1:
'69 Super Bee vs. '69 Mustang w/428: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGYFDEjrWbI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGYFDEjrWbI)
Round 2:
'69 Super Bee vs. '69 Mustang w/428: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQLQPw4v4Ag (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQLQPw4v4Ag)
Well, that's hardly Bullitt recreated. Looked like two old men out driving leisurely on a track. Still, that Mustang is gorgeous.
Hence, "sort of" ;). The cars were recreated down to the license plates used in the movie, and the mods (aftermarket wheels, suspension, steering wheel, painted body trim, etc.) to the Mustang. Quite impressive.
Quote from: GoCougs on March 02, 2015, 11:41:31 AM
Hence, "sort of" ;). The cars were recreated down to the license plates used in the movie, and the mods (aftermarket wheels, suspension, steering wheel, painted body trim, etc.) to the Mustang. Quite impressive.
Ah, I see.
I do love the Mustang done that way. Such a gorgeous car with a delicious sound.
Those are some high $$$ restorations right there.
We always remember McQueen & the Mustang - so it's nice to give a nod also to the Charger. The guy who drove it, Bill Hickman, was key to the scene too:
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Wikipedia:
Quote
While Hickman had many small acting (mainly driving) parts throughout the '50s and '60s, he mostly paid his bills with his stuntman work.
He sustained a couple of significant injuries during this time, including breaking several ribs in a bad trick-fall in the film How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965).
However, it was the landmark car chase alongside Steve McQueen in the now classic 1968 film Bullitt for which he is usually remembered.
Bill was to do all his own driving; portraying one of two hit men, he drove an all black 1968 Dodge Charger 440 Magnum R/T through the streets of San Francisco, using the hills as jumps.
In a nice professional driver's touch (before compulsory restraints were introduced in California), Hickman's character buckles his seat belt before flooring it at the beginning of the pursuit by the Highland Green Ford Mustang 390 G.T., driven by Steve McQueen, thereby indicating to the audience that we are about to go on a truly wild ride.
In those pre-digital days, the dangers were real: in one shot Hickman accidentally loses control and clips the camera fixed to a parked car. The chase climaxes with his Charger careening off into a gas station at which the fuel pumps erupt into a massive fireball.
Prior to the filming of the chase sequence, Hickman and McQueen did endless days of high-speed, close-quarter driving in practice for the actual chase.
Comments and film of Bill talking about his work are few and far between, although in the featurette shot at the time, Bullitt: Steve McQueen's Commitment To Reality, Bill can be seen discussing the chase with McQueen on location.
Found a bit more info here
Bill Hickman: Actor and Stunt Coordinator/Driving Legend of BULLITT, THE FRENCH CONNECTION & THE SEVEN-UPShttp://cscottrollins.blogspot.com/2014/01/bill-hickman-actor-and-stunt.html (http://cscottrollins.blogspot.com/2014/01/bill-hickman-actor-and-stunt.html)