Mustang Bullit Vs Hemi 300 SRT

As Ford reloads on a movie-atar Mustang, an old foe from the big screen shadows its arrival

- Louis Cordony 

THERE’S A SCENE in the movie Bullitt when the actors say nothing for about 10 minutes. Instead, as a Ford Mustang and Dodge Charger terrorise San Francisco’s streets in chase of each other, big V8s fill the dialogue. There’s no music, just bellowing engines and screeching tyres to hold your attention, as many argue, better than any other car chase scene in history.

Over the years, Ford’s built three special Mustangs in tribute to Detective Frank Bullitt’s (played by Steve McQueen) iconic 1968 Mustang GT from the scene. First in 2001, again in ’09, then in 2018 to mark 50 years since the film’s release. Named Mustang Bullitt, the latest one is the first to be sold in Australia.

Sure, you could call this comparison pointless when our 700-strong allocation is virtually sold out. But when its $73,680 price lands within only a couple grand of the Chrysler 300 SRT, our inner movie buff is screaming for a showdown. After all, the 300 SRT can claim family relations to the scene’s menacing 1968 Dodge Charger R/T 440.

Besides both cars being built by Chrysler, now known as FCA, the Dodge Charger was revived in 2016 with four-doors to avoid stealing Challenger sales. As a result, it shares the 300 SRT’s same platform and pushrod Hemi 6.4-litre V8 that punches out 350kW at 6150rpm and 637Nm at 4250rpm.

The 300 injects FCA’s presence into right-hand drive markets where the left-hand drive Charger and Challenger miss out. And although sales remain small in Australia, it survives here because our local four-door V8s gifted it an uncontested segment when they were axed.