Ford had got it all wrong with the new Bullitt Mustang. It's tried to create a modern version of the original but, as I've just finished restoring one of the 1967 cars, I think I'm in a good position to judge. The new car is nothing like a modern GT 390 - it's much better.

While my-new-old 'Stang gets off the line sharp ish and can run level with some quick cars in a straight line, show it a corner and, unless you're wide awake, it'll try to kill you. The new Bullitt fires off the line in original style but, in stark Contrast to the '67 car, can also get through a series of corners without the need for a rosary and a change of underwear.

The other thing Ford has got wrong is the name of the car. Rather than naming its new steed after a frankly average film (with an admittedly excellent seven-minute Car chase in the middle) surely it would have been better to call it the 'McQueen?' Steve's the reason the car's cool, not the movie.

Better still, don't call it anything at all. Let the understated spec do the talking for you. A fastback Mustang body, no logos, Highland Green paint, rowdy exhaust and Torq Thrust-style wheels combo will always equal a Bullitt spec. Telling people it's a special car with big badges is like explaining a joke - it ruins the effect.

But none of that matters right now. Here we are in San Francisco, 40 years to the day since the film debuted, with the keys to the new car and a couple of hours to play with it. Jumping, reverse burnouts and tyre-smoking turns are just a few miles away. We just need to pay a cab to take us on a refresher route of the chase - most of them will do it for $50 - and we're off.

Or are we? No, not yet. Before we can have a flying lap of San Fran, we first have to take a closer look at the car in detail. It's probably not a bad idea to do it now. If you look at the state of McQueen's 'Stang by the end of the chase it's in a very different spec from when it started.

First thing to note is that the body is a lot closer to the original car's proportions and styling than the Bullitt Mustang that appeared in 2001. The whole of the latest Mustang range is based more on the original Sixties shape than the last model, so that's perhaps to be expected. There are no spoilers or any other body extras, which is just as it should be. And there are no Mustang logos on the grille or anywhere else. Perfect.

The Highland Green paint is authentic, too, the dark metallic green only showing itself in direct sunlight then fading to near black at all other times. The Bullitt is also available in black, bur that's just wrong. Ford should have done green only. A black Mustang is Just a black Mustang. It has to be Highland Green to be a Bullitt.

The 18-inch Torq Thrust-style wheels do a good job of copying the originalI5-inch numbers and the tyres are high-profile enough to keep the sense of proportion. But there's far too much air between the top of the wheel and the wheelarch. The suspension is 6mm lower than a standard Mustang GT, but it needs to drop another couple of inches to get the right look. Likewise, the fake fuel fillet cap at the back needs to go, or at least have the Bullitt lettering removed.

Inside the cat there's thankfully little similar to the original Bullitt car. Steve's car had a wood dash and not much else. The new one has swathes of aluminium, an alloy gear knob - even satnav. It also has a light system that lets you choose between eight shades of colour to light the footwell and cupholder. This should be deleted if possible.

The engine and chassis have also taken McQueen-sized leaps forward over the lesser Mustang siblings. Using all of Ford Racing's tuning know-how, the Bullitt puts out 15bhp more than the standard car - bringing the total to 315bhp. It can also use more power, more of the time, thanks to some stouter suspension and some pretty fancy cross-braces under the bonnet.

One feature it might have been an idea to update from the original - it can't be seen, so why not? - is the live rear axle. While drag race fans like this simpler set-up, an independent suspension would make the car handle better and more predictably. It's a bit more expensive - ah, that's why not but it would probably be worth it.

I say probably as, after thrashing the car around San Francisco and down to Monterey, I'm now not so sure. Yes, it doesn't always give the best ride, and it does hop and jump over mid-corner bumps, but maybe that's the point. This is a muscle car and they shouldn't really be too refined. They are supposed to ‘be blunt instruments that you have to manhandle with confidence.

On one out-of-town stretch of twisting road, the Bullitt was quick and composed through all but the tightest and worst surfaced corners. It was easy to keep up an 140kph+ gallop along country lanes with a speed limit half that. Of course, there was the odd buck and the r occasional slide, but only when I'd I given it too many beans out of the. corner. I like cars that you can get lout of shape at quite low speeds, as you can have a lot of fun without worrying that it's all going to end in a ball of flame.

And the Bullitt is one of those cars. Having spent years watching' the film and wondering what it ' must be like to launch, slide and I spin-up a two-ton car around the hills of SF, when the time comes to , have a go myself, I quickly realise that in 2007 you can't just fling the car off the edge of a hill without squashing someone. There are more people and cars here than there were in the Sixties and there just isn't the room any more.

It's not a problem though. The Bullitt has changed with the times and is now more fun than ever before. Unlike the original, it doesn't just look and sound good (did I mention the exhaust noise? It's not quite as loud as it should be but the note is perfect), it goes properly too. And it does this for under Rs 12 lakh.

Would Steve approve? Without the badges, yeah, I think he would.