Ford Mustang Bullitt confirmed for Australia as iconic car chase movie celebrates its 50th anniversary

FANS of the Ford Mustang in Australia won’t miss out on the limited edition green machine.

FORD has confirmed the Bullitt Mustang is coming to Australia — to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the iconic car chase film.

A limited batch of cars — green with black wheels, a tribute to the Mustang driven by Steve McQueen’s character in the 1968 movie — is due in local showrooms in October, shortly after the updated Mustang arrives in July.

Ford Australia is yet to announce how many cars are coming but News Corp Australia has been told there will be “more than 50” — but the batch “won’t be in the thousands”.

The Bullitt Mustang is heading to Australia but Ford won’t say yet how many are coming or how much it will cost. Picture: Supplied.

Ford Australia is also yet to announce the price of the Bullitt edition — which comes with a little extra power and gets unique badging inside and out — but it recently foreshadowed a price rise of between $4000 and $9000 for the new model.

The regular V8 coupe on which the Mustang Bullitt is based will start from $62,990 plus on-roads, so the limited edition will likely be priced closer to $70,000.

Ford has not confirmed how much extra power the V8 will get but in Europe it will come with at least 343kW and 530Nm, a modest bump over the current car’s output of 306Nm and 530Nm.

It is also unclear if the Bullitt Mustang will be available in Australia with a choice of six-speed manual or the new 10-speed auto.

It may be manual only, given the shifter has a Bullitt logo and the car in the movie was a manual.

Legend ... Steve McQueen in the 1968 movie, Bullitt. Picture: Supplied.

While the Bullitt edition in the US is available in black and green, cars coming to Australia will only be available in green.

Steve McQueen’s granddaughter Molly McQueen unveiled the latest edition of the Bullitt Mustang at the Detroit motor show in January.

She was also reunited with the original car Steve McQueen drove in the 1968 movie, but didn’t get to keep it.

Molly McQueen reunited with her late grandfather's original Bullitt Ford Mustang from the 1968 movie. Picture: Supplied.

The Mustang has been a huge success for Ford in Australia since the first factory-made right-hand-drive models went on sale in 2015.

Ford forecast about 1000 sales a year; last year more than 9000 were delivered and it was Ford’s second biggest selling model locally after the Ranger pick-up.

In a media statement released today the boss of Ford Australia Graeme Whickman said: “Steve McQueen as Bullitt created a legend and Mustang Bullitt is the perfect way to salute an icon of the silver screen. We’re excited to offer Australian buyers the Mustang Bullitt, especially on the 50th anniversary of the legendary film.”

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling