Continuity mistake: During the lengthy downhill portion of the car chase, we see the Charger and the Mustang pass the same white Pontiac LeMans at least three times, due to the same moments in time being shown to us from multiple angles in order to extend the chase sequence.
Continuity mistake: In the leadup to the chase, the Charger stops at the top of a hill and the occupants look left where we see a green car parked in front of a red car. As the Charger pulls away we get the same view. The red car is still there, but now has a blue car of a different model in front of it and in a different place.
Revealing mistake: When Bullitt is in the Coffee Contata restaurant, he called Delgetti at the grungy hotel. Bullitt didn't look at a note for the supposedly unfamiliar phone number, but it seems as if the number wouldn't take much to remember, either. The number Bullitt dials on the rotary phone sounds as if it is made up of only the digits 1, 2 and maybe a 3, to not slow down the sequence.
Continuity mistake: During the chase on the hill, the Charger loses a hubcap while making a left turn (in the only shot when the yellow cab is visible beside the Cadillac). When the same location is shown, but from the opposite angle, the hubcap is not visible in the different take. The hubcap should be rolling in front of the Mustang, as it closely follows the Charger.
Continuity mistake: The Charger loses three hub caps during the chase but has two still on it when it crashes into the gas station.
Other mistake: When we get a front shot of the two cars jumping the hills, watch when the Mustang lands on all four wheels. It gives out a tremendous amount of smoke and steam from underneath. (Slow it down on DVD for the full effect.) This is because the car landed too heavily and shattered the sump (oil pan). The other Mustang had to be used while the mechanics repaired the damage.
Continuity mistake: In the scene were Bullitt and Cathy are talking by the roadside, we get a front view of her as she raises her hand to her head and she is holding a yellow flower. Cut to rear view of Cathy - no hand or flower. Back to front view - hand and flower are there again.
Continuity mistake: During the the car chase the Dodge Charger loses a hubcap going down the hill from the far side of the car. The other hub cap from that side comes off when the Charger hits the wall on the bend, but when they join the freeway only the front one is missing.
Continuity mistake: In the interior forward shot from inside the Charger as it goes down the hills and we see a white Saloon pull out from a side street and turn right and the charger passes this car. Then we cut to a view looking up the hills. We see the Mustang leap and the same white Saloon is again pulling out of a side street and turning right.
Visible crew/equipment: When Bullitt gets out of the cab at the car wash, just before the big chase sequence, the cameraman's reflection is visible on the door window. (01:02:15)
Deliberate mistake: Vaughn is reading the Wall Street Journal folded in half as his limo leaves the airport at the end of the movie. The headline is facing the camera right side up, which means the folded part he is reading has to be upside down. No doubt WSJ paid for the spot and demanded their name be right side up.
Suggested correction: Having just watched the movie the WSJ is folded when Vaughn enters the backseat of the limo, but as the camera moves to a front on view as the limo pulls away Vaughn can be seen unfolding the newspaper before he begins reading.
Continuity mistake: During the Charger/Mustang chase scene you see Steve McQueen's Mustang skid around a lot of corners. If you look at the street you can see the skid marks from the previous takes.
Continuity mistake: When the security guard is shot at the airport, the door is shattered by the bullet leaving a visible hole. In the closing scene, when the priest is giving the last rites, the glass in the door is intact. (01:50:00)
Suggested correction: The security guard was shot by Ross through the left door. As the priest is giving the last rites, seen through the unbroken glass of right door, the security guard who arrived on scene with Delgetti can be seen removing his hat through the shattered glass of the left door.
Visible crew/equipment: When Bullitt is in the restaurant, you can see a crew member telling people to get away from the filming.
Continuity mistake: During the chase scene where the Charger crashes into a parked white car, the screen blinks red to give the illusion of a strong impact. However, after the split second blink is finished, the car magically repairs itself and the Charger completely disappears.
Factual error: After the mid-point chase scene, Lt Bullitt drives to an airport hotel identified as the "Thunderbolt hotel in San Mateo." The hotel [originally 'Thunderbird' in the early '60s, renamed 'Thunderbolt', then 'Clarion', finally 'Aloft' in 2012.] is located adj the SFO runways at 401 E.Millbrae Av Millbrae, not San Mateo.
Continuity mistake: When Bullitt leans over to read the piping chart, the coat he has draped over his shoulder changes from neatly pressed and folded to wrinkled (and folded differently) between full shots and close-ups. (00:18:30)
Continuity mistake: During the chase, Bullitt's Mustang skids off the road and kicks up a huge cloud of brown dust that engulfs the car. It should now be coated with dust, but in the next shot of it speeding away, the Mustang is sparkling clean again. (01:14:05)
