Noted Ford tuner Steeda is coming out with a special edition Mustang that’s named after Steve McQueen. Officially called the Steeda Mustang Bullitt Steve McQueen Edition, the tuned muscle car is based on the 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt, a car that is teeming with exclusivity. But the Steeda Mustang Bullitt Steve McQueen Edition is on another level, and it’s all thanks to the collaboration involving Steeda, McQueen Racing, Galpin Auto Sports, and Chad McQueen, the only son of the iconic Hollywood megastar. Only 300 units of the Bullitt Steve McQueen Edition will be released per year, making it one of the most sought-after aftermarket Mustangs in the business today.

Exterior

The Steeda Mustang Bullitt Steve McQueen Edition gives you the goosebumps, doesn’t it? Dressed up in the famous Dark Highland Green paint finish that has become one of the defining features of the iconic Bullitt Mustang, the Steve McQueen Edition plays up to its billing. The color treatment looks mesmerizing on the Mustang. Combine that with a handful of exterior upgrades, and it’s not hard to imagine why this car is getting so much love from the public.

Start off with the Aerodynamic Front Fascia Enhancement Package. Steeda didn’t specify what comes with the package, but you can tell that the front bumper looks different from the “standard” Mustang Bullitt we saw earlier this year at the North American International Auto Show. A hood strut kit is also included in the overall package, while at the side, the rear quarter window louvers give the car an old-school touch that Ford somehow failed to include in its own special edition Bullitt Mustang.

As if all the references to McQueen throughout the car aren’t enough, the “special” special edition Bullitt Mustang also gets a new set of 20-inch Steve McQueen Edition wheels with Steve McQueen Edition center caps. The wheels are wrapped in Nitto NT555 G2 high-performance tires, and as an added option, you can also get McQueen Racing brake calipers painted in Dark Charcoal with Green McQueen accents added in for good measure.

Interior

We don’t get a good look at the interior from the renderings Steeda released, but the upgrades are hot and heavy in this section, at least if you opt for all the optional equipment that the tuner is offering. Should you decide to just stick with the basics, you’re getting illuminated door sill plates, dashboard serialization plates, and trusty old floor mats, all of which bear the “Steve McQueen Edition” inscription. It’s better than nothing, but it’s not anything to celebrate, either.

If you want to go all-out on the interior, you’re going to have to dig deep on Steeda’s optional upgrades for the Bullitt Mustang. A big part of these options involves taking out the rear seats courtesy of a Delete Kit. If you want to end there, you’re more than welcome to do so, but if you want to get the full set of upgrades, you can also get a four-point roll cage installed where the rear seats are supposed to be.

The roll cage completely changes the aesthetic dynamic of the interior, though you can salvage a little bit of luxury by dressing up the steering wheel with leather and Alcantara. While you’re at it, you can even throw in a green center stripe for good measure.

Performance

As striking as the Steeda Mustang Bullitt Steve McQueen Edition looks, the real reason why we’re writing about it is because of the power and performance upgrades that come with the whole package. On its own, the 2019 Bullitt Mustang gets its power from an updated version of the Mustang GT’s naturally aspirated, 5.0-liter, V-8 engine, that produces a solid 480 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque.

If those numbers don’t tickle your fancy, Steeda is offering to tune the muscle car’s ECU and add a cold air intake to help get that horsepower figure up to 500 ponies. It’s a decent bump in power, but it’s not exactly the kind that’s going to make the Earth move. For that, you need to go big, and by “big,” I mean the Steve McQueen Edition Whipple Supercharger Power Upgrade. The name itself sounds ominous, but if you avail of this optional upgrade, you can raise the power of your Steeda Mustang Bullitt Steve McQueen Edition to a monstrous 775 horsepower. It’s going to cost you more to get to this level, but if money isn’t an issue, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t take this dive into muscle car oblivion.

Other upgrades attached to the muscle car’s powertrain are included to help keep things working smoothly. The Clutch Spring Assist with Perch Kit Upgrade is useful in establishing performance balance across the board. A black aluminum coolant tank is aesthetically and functionally upgrade. There are no changes to the transmission itself — it remains a six-speed manual — but the setup gets some goodies of its own, courtesy of a Tri-Ax short throw shifter and a McQueen Racing gear knob. In the event that you went for the home run supercharger upgrade, you’re also going to need to get the Ford Performance Severe Duty IRS Half-Shaft Upgrade.

With all the technical upgrades in place, the Steeda Mustang Bullitt Steve McQueen Edition is going to become a handful to deal with. Somewhere, wherever he is, Steve McQueen must have a huge smile on his face.

Chassis and Suspension

Did you think the upgrades are over? With a car that required the joint efforts of Steeda, Galpin Auto Sports, and McQueen Racing, the modifications don’t just end under the hood of the car. There’s a reason, after all, that the car is described as being “purposely re-engineered to deliver supreme performance and improved driving dynamics.”

That’s why chassis and suspension upgrades also play prominent roles in the whole package. Nobody cut corners here, either, because the modifications in this section come with a list that runs pretty darn long. Take the sway bars, for example. The standard ones were taken out in favor of bars with “welded-in-place” solid billet ends. Even the mounts have been upgraded to aluminum. The muscle car’s subframe also received a bushing support system, an alignment kit, and its own K-member support brace.

Sport springs are also included in the package, as are performance-tuned struts and shocks, chassis jacking raps, camber plates, billet aluminum links, and a performance wheels ligament to ensure that all these upgrades come together and give the Steeda Mustang Bullitt Steve McQueen Edition the kind of driving and handling dynamics that McQueen would be proud of.

Other Goodies

Part of what makes the Steeda Mustang Bullitt Steve McQueen Edition so special is that you’re not just buying the car itself if you decide to make the splurge. You’re also getting a lot of what could be considered freebies, including Steve McQueen Edition engraved key fobs, a signed and numbered Steve McQueen Edition poster by Chad McQueen, a similar signed and numbered Steve McQueen Edition Archival Pigment Print on Fine Art Paper by Camilo Pardo, and a letter of vehicle authenticity in case someone starts questioning the legitimacy of your prized ‘Stang.

Pricing

At some point, you’re going to want to know how much the Steeda Mustang Bullitt Steve McQueen Edition costs. Well, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that the tuning package, excluding the options, costs only $20,995. It’s not a cheap price, but it’s not going to make you bankrupt, either. The bad news is that if you want the full upgrades, including the 775-horsepower supercharger kit, you’re going to have to spend more than just $20,995 on the tuning package.

But suppose you’re fine with the standard package, that $20,995 cost gets tacked onto the $46,595 price tag of the 2019 Mustang Bullitt, bringing your costs up to around $67,500. Do the math and that’s almost $10,000 more expensive than the Shelby Mustang GT 350. As I’ve said, production of the special edition Bullitt Mustang is limited to just 300 units per year. If you miss out on this year’s allocation, you’re going to have a long wait to get your name in the list.

Conclusion

You don’t need to remind me about the significance of the Steeda Mustang Bullitt Steve McQueen Edition. It’s basically a heavily modified version of a special edition Mustang that Ford isn’t releasing in large quantities. It’s the kind of car that only a handful of people get their hands on. Having noted firms like Galpin Auto Sports and McQueen Racing involved in the project only bolsters its cool factor, and I haven’t even mentioned that, in its limitless guise, this Mustang was basically created to pay homage to arguably one of the coolest cats to ever walk this planet of ours. Say what you will about Steve McQueen, but there was nobody like him in his time, and nobody like him since. Chances are, we’re going to be saying the same thing about the Steeda Mustang Bullitt Steve McQueen Edition in the future.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt.

Read our full review on the 2018 Ford Mustang.

Read more Ford news.