Bullitt 2.0: The Return of Muscle on the Streets of San Francisco

A Modern-Day Chase: Dodge Charger Scat Pack vs. Ford Mustang GT

Even if you’ve never seen Bullitt, the 1968 Steve McQueen crime thriller, you’ve probably heard of its iconic car chase. It uses San Francisco’s dramatic topography to breathtaking effect. McQueen himself does a lot of the driving, notably in a scene where he understeers wide, misses a corner in his Mustang, smokes the tires in reverse, and takes off down the street doing a one-wheel peel. The adversaries are bad guys in a Dodge Charger, and there’s an exciting 10 minutes or so of trading parries until the chase concludes in explosive fashion. In the movie, both the Charger and the Mustang are two-door coupes. The Mustang has stuck to that formula, but 1978 was the last year for a two-door, rear-drive Charger, a frustration to would-be Bullitt pilgrims looking to re-create the vibe of the movie in contemporary machines. But with the return of the two-door, internal-combustion Charger, we figured it was time to make like Frank Bullitt and prowl the streets of San Francisco with these not-quite-natural rivals.

Two Titans Return

Just as in 1968, the modern-day Charger is a hoss of a car. It’s a bit over 17 inches longer than the Mustang and nearly wide enough to require the cab-marker lights you see on heavy-duty pickups. If the two-door Charger looks like it’s the size of a well-fed sedan, that’s because it is—the Charger sedan is basically the same car with four doors instead of two. In Scat Pack form, a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six sends 550 horsepower to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic, with a rear-drive mode available for tire-smoking shenanigans (lesser trims get a 420-hp version of the turbocharged six). Oh yeah, and the Charger is a hatchback. This automotive platypus is also available as an EV, the Charger Daytona. After subjecting Mopar fans to a Charger drought when the previous generation ceased production in 2023, Dodge now seems determined to offer a new Charger for everyone.

The Mustang GT is a lot easier to surmise. It’s rear-wheel drive, with a 480-hp 5.0-liter V-8 that’s hooked to either a six-speed manual or a 10-speed automatic transmission. The optional active exhaust brings the horsepower total to 486 while delivering a thunderous rumble in Track mode. Although Lieutenant Bullitt would surely prefer the manual, we opted for the automatic to try to keep our competitors as similar as possible. There’s also a Mustang GT convertible for those who want to roll in their five-point-oh with the ragtop down so their hair can blow, but we went with the hardtop, like a hard-boiled detective might drive.

Interior and Exterior: Style and Substance

“One thing these cars have in common,” said managing testing editor David Beard, “is that they both looked better in the previous generation.” That observation rings true, as the Mustang used to be sleeker, and the two-door Charger used to be the Challenger, which had the advantage of being, you know, its own car. But public sentiment was strongly in favor of the Charger’s new look, with San Franciscans constantly asking us, “Is this electric?” (Who knew the Charger Daytona had such a high Q rating?) Black lower-body cladding helps disguise the Charger’s height, as does a roof that comes in dark glass or black paint. The broad snout looks menacing in the rearview mirror, especially when framed by Alcatraz in the distance. A black exterior would’ve evoked the bad guys’ ride from the movie better, but the $695 Redeye red is a pretty hue under a Bay Area sunset.

The Mustang didn’t attract the same degree of attention, but chalk that up to familiarity. This seventh-generation car debuted for 2024 and looks much like a more angular and buff version of the sixth-generation Stang. The big wheels and staggered tires of the GT Performance package help give the Mustang the stance it deserves, but the GT is ultimately a restrained design. If you want racetrack looks, you need to step up to the Dark Horse.

Power and Performance: Straight-Line Muscle

Given the cars’ vastly different powertrains, it’s remarkable how similar they are in straight-line acceleration. Both the Mustang and the Charger hit 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, and their quarter-mile times are nearly identical—12.1 seconds at 116 mph for the Charger and 12.2 seconds at 118 mph for the Mustang. On a straightaway, neither car puts the other in the rearview mirror. But those numbers reflect the aptitude of the Charger’s launch-control system, which allows the inline-six to build boost before timing commences.

The Mustang’s quick-witted transmission and more responsive naturally aspirated V-8 make it quicker in every rolling-start test. It beat the Charger’s 4.8-second 5-to-60-mph time by 0.8 second and won the sprints from 30 to 50 mph and 50 to 70 mph by a half second. The high-output Hurricane is a strapping six, but ultimately, the Charger is a heavy car with a small engine, and you feel the Dodge’s 4889 pounds in the perceptible delta between throttle application and the arrival of boost. You also feel that weight when you’re hard on the brakes and in corners, where the Mustang’s trimmer 3984-pound curb weight and Pirelli P Zero PZ4 summer tires confer huge advantages.

This Charger might escape the Mustang out on the Bonneville Salt Flats—it’s got a 0.8-second lead to 150 mph, and its claimed 177-mph top speed handily beats the Mustang’s 155-mph governor—but on the crazy-quilt streets of San Francisco, the Ford is a much easier tool to wield. The GT posts