In the 1968 American thriller Bullitt, a Dodge Charger of the same year became the center of attention in the infamous car chase scene. Lieutenant Bullitt (Steve McQueen) was in pursuit of two hitmen driving the Charger.
The star himself was driving a Mustang, which appeared to get the better of the Charger. But as you read on, you’ll see that this couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Infamous 1968 Dodge Charger
Usually, the standout car from a film is driven by the star of the movie. In Bullitt, this wasn’t the case.
The Dodge Charger was the most talked about car from the film, and it happened to be driven by the bad guy—a hitman played by Hollywood stuntman Bill Hickman.
The car chase scene showed the Mustang easily tailing the Charger. In reality, Hickman had to slow himself down so that he wouldn’t pull away from the Mustang.
“We had three identical green 1968 Ford Mustang fastbacks and three black Dodge Chargers in the movie,” said Hickman when interviewed. “Many writers have said two, but there were three of each. We needed the extra cars in case one was damaged. The movie’s shooting schedule can’t be slowed for dents and things like that. Fortunately we only had to use a second Mustang once when the first Mustang had to go in to be fixed up.”
This proves how much power the Dodge Charger was packing.
It had a much larger engine and greater horsepower. The Charger had a big-block 440 cu. in while the Mustang had a medium-block 390 cu. in. The Charger’s horsepower? 375 against the Mustang’s 325.
Think you’re ready to handle that much power in a car? Check out Bryant Motor’s selection of Dodge Chargers and come in for a test drive today.
