The Bullitt isn't just a restyle in an homage to the original Bullitt Mustang, it's also been worked over for more horsepower and a classic burbly exhaust note. The 5.0-liter V8 has been retuned to make "at least" 475 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque. The hedging is because there may be a final adjustment to that number later, but don't expect a massive increase in either number. Think plus or minus 5 ponies. If these are the final numbers, that's a bump of 15 horsepower over the 2018 Mustang GT (460hp).

The exhaust is also going to sound better, barking out a blatty classic Ford smallblock-like sound from its standard active valve performance exhaust with blackened tips. There's also an new air induction system Ford calls the Open Air Induction System (more details on that coming soon), and it swipes the Shelby GT350 intake manifold and ECU. That means the throttle bodies are upgraded to 87mm, by the way,

The manual transmission is topped with a classic round white cueball-style shift ****. Beyond that, it's packed with all the goodies from the GT Premium and Performance Packages. The cool digital gauge cluster is also present but with a custom Bullitt welcome screen. There are only a few options: the Bullitt Electronics Package (nav, memory mirror and seats, better audio, BLIS with cross-traffic alert), MagneRide, and Recaro seats trimmed in black leather.

And the exterior. There are two colors, interestingly. The original Dark Highland Green, but also Shadow Black. The 19-inch aluminum Torq Thrust-style wheels have red Brembo calipers behind them. The black, unadorned grille is a nice touch — otherwise the car is clear of badging, like the original.

This is a special edition, so production may be limited. It'll be available this summer, with pricing information coming later.

Few movie cars are as instantly recognizable as the 1968 Ford Mustang that Steve McQueen drove in "Bullitt." That Highland Green car known now simply as the Bullitt Mustang took on a 1969 Dodge Charger on the streets of San Francisco in one of the greatest car chases captured on film. For decades, the original car was thought to be lost. That wasn't entirely the case. It's simply been kept out of the public's eye. Now it returns to the spotlight, finally taking its rightful place next to its successor, the new 475-horsepower 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt.

After filming wrapped on "Bullitt," Warner Bros. sold two cars off, one to a private buyer and another to a salvage yard. The salvage car was beaten and bruised thanks to a number of jumps and stunts during filming. While that one was eventually found in Baja California, the other Mustang has been quietly resting in a private collection for nearly 40 years. After the owner, Robert Kiernan, passed away in 2014, his son Sean contacted Ford to let the company know the whereabouts of the car.

According to Hagerty, McQueen attempted several times to purchase the car from Kiernan, even offering to find a similar replacement. Kiernan refused. The car was apparently driven by Kiernan's wife, a teacher at a school in New Jersey. The car's clutch went out in 1980, and it was moved to a garage for a very extended stay. At the time, it had 65,000 miles on the odometer. The car followed the Kiernan family to Ohio, Kentucky and eventually to Nashville, Tennessee.

Looking at the photos, it's obvious that the car has been parked for a while. The brightwork is pockmarked with rust spots, and the paint is flat and faded, though apparently some of that was intentionally done to give it the same flavor as McQueen's character in the film, Lt. Frank Bullitt. All of the age is made even more apparent when parked next to the new 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt.

Kiernan doesn't have plans to sell the car, but the right offer may be too hard to pass up. Hagerty estimates the car might be worth more than $4 million at auction, comparing it to James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 ($4.1 million) and the original Batmobile ($4.6 million). Either way, it's good to know that the car wasn't crushed or sold for scrap. A car like this deserves to live.

Ford has opened order books for the 2019 Mustang Bullitt and confirmed final output for the commemorative-edition GT fastback at 480 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. Ford also confirms starting pricing, which is $47,495, including a $900 destination and delivery fee. Deliveries are expected in late summer.

Ford had previously said the 5.0-liter V8 would make "at least" 475 hp, so the final figure makes good on that and offers 20 more ponies than the 2018 Mustang GT, thanks to a Shelby GT350 intake manifold, 87-mm throttle body and engine tuning. It also boasts a top speed of 163 miles per hour, unchanged from previous projections but an 8 mph improvement over the standard Mustang GT.

​​​​​​​It adds several features that were previously options on the Mustang GT, including active exhaust, a performance package that includes red Brembo front brakes, suspension and chassis upgrades and a limited-slip differential, and 19-inch aluminum wheels. It even gets an increasingly rare manual transmission (there's no automatic option), complete with a white cueball **** shifter. A black NitroPlate quad-tip exhaust is standard.

Customers will be able to choose between shadow black and the classic dark highland green, as shown in Detroit. Badging is limited to the faux gas-cap Bullitt logo centered on the rear.