10 minutes, 53 seconds. That’s the length of arguably the greatest car chase in cinematic history.
It’s Steve ‘King of Cool’ McQueen driving that Highland Green Mustang GT Fastback up and over the hills of San Francisco in the 1968 thrill ride ‘Bullitt’.
And for me, what heightened the heart-pounding, edge-of-the-seat action, in addition to all the hill yumping and wheel spinning, was the guttural soundtrack of the Mustang’s big-block V8.
Picture Freddy Krueger gargling with roofing nails, or Godzilla trying to get your attention, and neither comes close to the throaty, rugga-rugga growl from the Ford’s exhausts.
Fast forward 56 years and if you want to make the same kind of attention-grabbing, totally obnoxious, hubbub today, check out the latest 2024 Mustang GT 5.0. And make it a convertible to get the full explosive sound amplification.
I’ve just spent a week apologizing to neighbors and looking sheepishly away from fellow motorists while nailing the throttle of this 490-horsepower, V8-thrusted noise maker with the optional active exhaust system.
Yes, there’s a ‘quiet’ setting in addition to ‘normal’ ‘sport’ and ‘track’. But there’s nothing ‘quiet’ about it. In my concrete, multi-floor parking garage, by the time I’d reached the exit it had set off three car alarms, caused multiple dogs to bark, and even had one mom shielding her daughter’s ears.
Again, apologies to all.
To add to the obnoxiousness, Ford even lets you fire-up the engine using the key fob while standing 20 or 30 feet away and, courtesy of the new Remote Rev feature, lets you blip the throttle.
Where was this feature when I was 16 years old?
It’s all part of the retro, muscle-car feel built into this latest, seventh-generation Mustang that enthusiasts know as the S650.
And full credit to Ford for keeping its pony car alive while American V8 rivals, like Chevy’s Camaro and the Dodge Challenger, have been relegated to that automotive junkyard in the sky.
Fact is, if you want a reasonably-priced, sporty, two-door V8-powered convertible, the Mustang is all there is. And Ford should get a big round of applause for keeping the faith.
Talking of price, you can still get into a base Mustang Convertible for around $40,000, powered by a lovely 315-hp 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder with a 10-speed automatic.
For V8 power, a GT Premium Convertible with standard six-speed stick costs around $55,000. Though, like the choices of cheeses at the Publix deli, Ford offers a true multitude of options and packages with every Mustang.
Add the $5,000 GT Performance package, the 10-speed automatic ($1,595), the magnetic damping system ($1,750) and active exhaust ($1,225), it’s easy to get to the $66,270 sticker of our test car. Yikes.
But twist the top release handle, press a button and watch the Mustang’s cloth roof power down in just 15 seconds for maximum driving pleasure.
And the true pleasure comes when you fire up that big V8, pop the 10-speed into ‘drive’ and hit it. Hear the noise, feel the sun on your face and the wind in your hair, and just revel in this hugely entertaining car. Think fun with a capital ‘F’.
Naturally, it’s quick. That big Coyote 5.0 with its 486 ponies and 418 lb-ft of torque, can punch the GT to 60 mph from standstill in just 3.9 seconds.
And with nicely-precise, adjustable-weight steering, sticky Pirelli P Zero rubber at each corner and MagneRide adjustable dampers, the GT carves curves like it’s running on invisible rails. And the ride is just smooth enough not to loosen dental work.
My issue with our $66,000 Mustang however, is that despite the big power and leather trim, it still feels a little like a Hertz rental car.
The interior plastics look and feel cheap, the doors close with a tinny ‘ping’, there’s nothing covering the ugly roof-folding mechanism and, wait for it, it uses a fixed radio antenna on the rear fender. Hello 1974.
But for all its faults, the GT Convertible is a rolling, last-ditch hurrah for old school American V8 power and is worth saddling-up for one last Bullitt-style ride. Yee-ha and giddy-up.
