2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt Review (The Drive)
The Ford Mustang Bullitt's V8 Made Me Understand Why People Are Obsessed With Exhaust Notes.
My whole outlook on road cars changed when I tested an absurdly-loud 5.0-liter V8 Mustang, and I probably owe some people who I dismissed as backward Luddites over the years an apology.
Exhaust notes have never really been a must-have for me in a car. They're enjoyable as all hell, but am I going to complain if the sound doesn't stand my hair on end, or isn't there at all? Probably not, unless the tailpipe has been replaced with a giant whistle. We live in an age when nearly silent electric vehicles offer truly mind-bending performance nowadays, after all.
Don't get me wrong — I love the noise of a loud V10, and the chorus of NASCAR V8s reverberating off of an oval track is practically a religious experience. Yet if you compare the loud, higher-pitched sound of the current-day Porsche 911 RSR to a long, annoying trumpet-fart, I'm just going to shrug and ask, "So?" Who cares as long as it wins?
I even defended the initial year of Formula 1's much-loathed, much quieter V6 hybrid power units. They reminded me of the diesel Audi Le Mans prototypes where I could sit at the track and listen to the other sounds the car was making — turbos, tires, everything. (This doesn't really come through in the TV broadcast.)
Now I'm facing the music, and I'm so sorry, sound people. I've brushed away all of your concerns and protests for years — but I finally get it. I had the 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt as a test car, and the noise alone completely made my day.
