'A sweet car': Ford's 2019 Mustang Bullitt makes KC Auto Show debut

They gathered around the car like moths to a porchlight.

About 40 members of the Mustang Club of Greater Kansas City were invited to come early to the Kansas City Auto Show on Thursday for a sneak peek of the limited edition 2019 Mustang Bullitt, an homage vehicle to the one made famous 50 years ago in the Steve McQueen movie "Bullitt."

Five-liter V8 engine, 6-speed manual transmission, 475 horsepower, up to 163 mph. A lean, green machine.

"It's a sweet car," said George Stegner of Clay County, who owns six Mustangs — four of them 1968 models.

"The more you look at it the more you like it," said Don Lankard of Independence, whose wife, Linda, was wearing a silver Mustang necklace. "We saw the pictures, but when we found out it was going to be here it went right to the top of the priority list."

The Bullitt prototype is a star of the auto show that runs through Sunday at Bartle Hall.

"When do you start taking orders for these?" one Mustang club member asked Ford representatives on hand.

The 2019 Bullitt goes into production later this year. The list price has not been announced but club members said they expected it to be roughly $50,000.

"I'm excited about it," said RJ Coberly of Lenexa, who is treasurer of the Mustang club. "It's a great tribute car."

Coberly said Mustangs weren't collectible before the 1968 movie. It was an inexpensive, non-exotic car that was souped up for the famous chase scene.

"It's awesome," said Pam Clark of Overland Park. She and neighbor Nancy Pilmey, social directors of the club, each have a Mustang.

"This is a classic car, just like in the movie," said Pilmey. "This is like a trip down memory lane."

The 2019 model is painted Highland Green, just like the original, and has the same cue-ball shift knob.

A trailer for the new Bullitt tribute model showcases the vehicle's power with McQueen's granddaughter, Molly McQueen, at the wheel. The "plot" of the promotional video involves a race between the Bullitt and another vehicle for the last parking space in a garage. Guess which car wins.

"I honestly didn’t know how to drive a stick shift and I stalled it quite a few times," McQueen told USA Today. "By the end of the second day of shooting, they asked me to slow down. It becomes second nature.”

The 10-minute chase in the movie "Bullitt" took four weeks to shoot in San Francisco.

Ford auctioned the first 2019 Mustang Bullitt for $300,000 and gave the money to a California school for troubled kids, which actor Steve McQueen once attended. The Kansas City Mustang club also has a charitable bent, raising $70,000 for Children's Mercy Hospital.

Along with the Mustang Bullitt, Ford is also showing off its 2019 Ford Ranger at the Kansas City Auto Show, as well as the new EcoSport, Ford's first subcompact SUV for the American market.

This story was originally published March 1, 2018 at 3:07 PM with the headline "'A sweet car': Ford's 2019 Mustang Bullitt makes KC Auto Show debut."