40 yr Tribute Model of Steve McQueen's 1968 Movie "Bullitt"

"Steve was very clear," adds his former production partner, Robert Releya.

"He always said that this movie was a western in which he would strap on a car like a gun belt."

"BULLITT 08.0901 ~ BUILT 0109.08"

Mustang Bullitt 2008, S/N 901 of 7000 US

Custom ordered 12.6.07 with HID Headlights & Active Alarm, Built 1.9.08, Delivered & purchased 2.6.08

Racing the Sun Around a Volcano

Crater Lake National Park Rim Drive

    With all of the fall chores I've had stack up to prepare for winter, I have been trying to schedule one last summer fun drive in the Bullitt around Crater Lake Rim Drive. I deserve a full day off!! LOL So Wed (10.29.08) was predicted to be sunny and warm (the last good weather day of the year up there as it turned out) and I scheduled my remaining chores around the forecast. I filled up with 92 Premium in anticipation of a great drive. *

    I called that morning about 10 to make sure it was still open and they said yes but it will be closing at 5pm. So I got out of here late at 2.15 and when I got to Headquarters at the Steel Center at 3 they already had the cones blocking the Rim Drive South entrance and were about to lock the gates! Ugh!! I asked nicely and they reluctantly said OK and let me in, and said the North entrance already had barricades up but I could move them out of the way to get out. So I had the entire Rim Drive all to myself as my own "personal road course"! Can you imagine? Lots of tight turns, 2nd & 3rd gear roaring out of them, steep grades, dodging fist sized rocks in the road (Bullitt has no spare), and some brief stretches for accelerating 30 to 60 (and a few 90). Then brake hard, down shift and set up, and accelerate thru the next turn! HAHAHA! The handling package sticks so well and it was a blast!! It was like driving Formula One and racing the Sun around a volcano before sunset! I mean how often would anybody get a chance to do that with a new performance car in a National Park? It was a very unique once in a lifetime personal experience to put it mildly! I'd race from one turnout to the next, snap some shots, and race on. LOL What a driving thrill while enjoying total eye candy!

    Although they recommend driving it clockwise, I have only done it counter (only driven it once before). As it turns out, it is better counterclockwise for road racing because you steadily climb to 7800' and therefore less braking. Even with all the acceleration and altitude, I got 20mpg around the loop. Wonder what the exhaust roar sounded like echoing thru the hills? Like Steve McQueen in San Francisco in his '68 Mustang GT390? LOL Really a great treat after busting it so hard this fall! I stopped back in at the Steel Center on the way out to say thanx and the gals said I was definitely the last car thru for 2008. What an experience!

* (The 2008 Bullitt's computer is the first Ford Mustang that senses the octane, adjusts for premium and adds 10 ft lbs more mid range torque. And yes you can tell - even at my home area altitude of 4200’ plus in higher altitude with even thinner air. In fact I have now pushed my stock Dark Highland Green ‘08 Bullitt #901, with its 4.6L 3V/cyl. performance V8, tight handling, hard cornering, hot rod sounding "Steve McQueen" Mustang; on hard driving two lane roads at sea level all the way to 7800’ and back. Yet the drive by wire computer has delivered outstanding performance despite the changes in oxygen levels and octane! My all around mileage is 23, straight hiway at 65 on cruise is 27MPG... from a V8 performance engine.  : )

ABOUT CRATER LAKE:

Crater Lake is almost perfectly circular and it is surround by cliffs which rise as much as 2,000 feet above the lake surface. From almost any position on the rim the entire lake can be seen without obstruction, as in the view below looking 6 miles across the lake toward the east rim. The entire caldera is 6 miles wide, 20 miles around, and 4000 feet deep. The lake surface itself lies at an altitude of 6176 feet.

The surface area of the lake is about 20 to 21 square miles. It contains 4 cubic miles of water, which can also be measured as 5 trillion gallons. At its deepest point the lake is 1932 feet deep, making it the deepest lake in the United States. The average depth is 1148 feet. It is also believed to be the 7th deepest lake in the entire world, and the second deepest lake in the western hemisphere. The dropoff to great depth is extreme in places, as for example in one location the lake reaches a depth of 1200 feet only 100 feet from shore.

But most striking is the deep blue color, a result of two characteristics of the water. The first is the extreme purity and clarity of the lake, due to a lack of organic material, dissolved minerals, and organic material in the water. It is possible that sunlight penetrates more deeply through the waters of this lake than any on earth. The second characteristic is the lake's depth of the lake, as the deeper the lake the deeper the color of blue. The molecules of water in the lake absorb the colors of sunlight except for blue, which is scattered back to the surface of the lake, resulting in the vivid blue color. The lake is also free of chemicals, sediments, and other materials which cannot be carried into the lake from nonexistent streams and rivers flowing into it.

The clarity of the lake is amazing. On a summer day one can see 40 to 60 feet down through the water. The precise clarity of the lake is measured using a Sechi Disk, a flat, patterned object which is lowered into the water until it can no longer be seen. The record clarity--the depth at which the disk can still be seen-- at Crater Lake is 142 feet. Crater Lake is among the purest bodies of water in the world.

THE PHANTOM SHIP: Story of The Phantom Ship

WIZARD ISLAND: The Story of Wizard Island

RIM DRIVE:

A 33-mile Rim Drive encircles Crater Lake, with each mile giving a very different perspective of the lake, rim, and surrounding terrain. The road is open only during the summer from late June to mid-October.

Details on Rim Drive around the caldera

Links to other Bullitt pages on Bullitt Banner at top of page