Ford Mustang Bullitt Drag Races Lexus LC500, Annihilation Follows

The shootout between a Bullitt and LC500 must look pretty unusual in Britain, where Carwow films its drag races. Muscle cars are pretty rare in Europe, even though Ford has tried to change that. Meanwhile, the LC500 is quite an unusual luxury sports car in a market dominated by the Germans.

On the face of it, the rivals have nothing in common other than classy green metallic paint. But they deliver power in similar ways. Bullitts have 5.0-liter naturally-aspirated V8 engines, the same displacement and number of cylinders as the LC500. The power rating is also the same at 460 hp and 530 Nm or 390 lb-ft of torque (European market specs).

The real differences are going to come from the gearboxes, as the Bullitt comes with an old-fashioned manual and the Lexus is only available with a 10-speed automatic. Plus because of all the luxury features, the Japanese coupe is noticeably heavier and more expensive.

So, which of these rare imports is going to be faster, the American classic or the sci-fi ship from Japan? Well, even though the Lexus doesn't have launch control or the quickest gearbox, it still pulls ahead easily. On the second run, Mat decides to use Ford's launch control and things go a little bit better, but the LC still manages to catch up, with both cars completing the 1/4-mile run in 12.6 seconds.

It looks like it's going to come down to the rolling race if we want to see which is the faster car. By the time its driver shifts from 5th down to 3rd, the Bullitt is left eating the Lexus' dust. However, it's worth pointing out that Ford offers automatic ponies and the American version of the Bullitt has more power.