Retracing Steve McQueen’s “Bullitt” Car Chase in San Francisco

Steve McQueen’s “Bullitt” Mustang run became the blueprint for every chase that followed, and MotorTrend takes a 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 replica through the paces.

Fact: The chase scene from the 1968 movie Bullitt was, is, and remains the best ever filmed. There have been some valiant challengers: the late John Frankenheimer’s heart-pounding work through the streets of Paris in Ronin; making Minis fly in The Italian Job (the original and the remake); the Seven-Ups, which involved some of the same folks who worked on Bullitt. But when the lists are made and the bets are laid down, Bullitt comes out on top. Every time.

In spite of a few charming continuity goofs and cameras occasionally visible in the back seat of Lieutenant Frank Bullitt’s tire-smoking Mustang fastback, the scene was lauded for its authenticity and realism at the time. See it on a big screen today, and the views out the windshield as the Mustang and bad guys’ Dodge Charger careen down San Francisco’s Taylor Street will still make your stomach roll.

MotorTrend’s mission was to return to the City by the Bay in a faithfully recreated replica of the Bullitt Mustang, drive the chase-scene route, and hit a few other iconic locales used during filming …

https://www.motortrend.com/features/bullitt-1968-mustang-gt-390-replica-san-francisco-car-chase

(photo credit: Alan Muir)