Every summer thousands of car fans in Great Britain flock to historic Silverstone for a three day festival of all things automotive. There’s racing, car shows, air displays, a huge vendor area, and more. The event is so big that in 2013 it drew over 90,000 visitors. This year the Silverstone Classic (as the event is known) will feature the Old World’s official 50th anniversary Mustang celebration. Several hundred Mustangs are expected to attend, and we imagine they’ll make their way to Silverstone from all parts of Europe.
To help build some hype for the event, the promoters recently released this chas scene tribute from the 1968 classic McQueen film, Bullitt. Die-hard car guys will know that Bullitt set the standard for movie car chases, one by which all movie car chases are still measured today. The Mustang piloted by Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen) and the menacing black Charger occupied by two hit men tore through San Francisco in a rollicking high speed chase that includes the best soundtrack ever to movie a car chase -the engine noise of the two cars.
The Silverstone Classic pays tribute, recreating the scene with two authentic appearing replicas, the car’s occupants in correct costume, and even a mysterious green VW Beetle that appears several times just like in the original movie chase (perhaps its only flaw). Of course the Silverstone road course lacks the hills that added so much drama to the original chase in the movie, but the driver’s still manage to get their cars sideways (a little). Of course the Charger exploding is CGI in this version. While it lacks some of the drama of the original the engine noise is great, the cars fantastic, and it’s a great way to pay homage to the Mustang’s 50th birthday, and a legendary film that gearheads everywhere should enjoy for at least a few minutes.
We just wish we had car shows that drew this many, fans and participants, with this wide a variety of goings on in the USA. The Silverstone Classic takes place July 25-27, 2014 at Silverstone.