15 Jaw Dropping Versions Of America's Favorite Car: Ford Mustang

In 1962, a crew of amazing designers lead by their manager Lee Iacocca shook the car world when they dropped the original concepts for the now iconic Ford Mustang. Coming off an epic run of amazing models like the Falcon,Fairlanes and Galaxies, Ford wanted to introduce a powerful sedan that would give its GM counterparts some competition on the sales floor.

The result was the Mustang and the initial concept car ended up in production in 1964 and made its debut at the World’s Fair in New York City. Although the final look of the Mustang changed from its earlier conceptual models, the floor version was a stunner. Here are a few versions of Mustang that have influenced how we have come to view the American muscle car.

The Ford Mustang I Concept Car

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The concept that started it all. The Mustang I created a buzz in the car world and helped create the muscle car race between Ford and Chevy throught the latter half of the decade.

The Original Production 1964(1/2) Ford Mustang 289

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Coming in at $2,368, the First available floor model of the Mustang was an instant hit. Original projections were set at 100,000 units but within the first 18 months, the Mustang shattered records and sold a staggering 1 million units.

1965 Mustang Shelby GT350

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The lightest of the Shelby Models from this era, the 1965 GT350, or Cobra as many like to refer to them as, took the public by storm. Only a few GT350s ever made their way to dealerships with the iconic “Le Mans” top stripes as seen here. Only 562 were built and of those only 34 were called “G.T. 350R” the racing version.

1966 Shelby GT350-H

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Can you believe that this car was actually built to be a rental car? This version was offered as a rental car for Hertz and after they hit a certain mileage, they were sent back to Ford, refurbished and then were made available for sale to the public. 885 units were made.

1967 Mustang Shelby GT350(First GT500 Introduced)

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The predecessor to the famous “Eleanor” model, the 67′ GT350 soon gave way to the first ever GT500 with a 427 FE GT40 racing engine that kicked out 650 HP. Carroll Shelby himself took it for a spin and got it up to 170 MPH. Due to limited interest, it was the only prototype built. Fun Fact: That same car sold at auction in 2013 for 1.3 million.

1968 Shelby Cobra GT500-KR

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In these glorious years, Shelby and Ford stayed busy introducing many amazing models and in April 1968, they dropped a 428 engine into the GT500 and called it the “Cobra Jet”. That model was now known as The GT 500-KR. What does KR stood for? “King of the road” of course!

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1969 Mustang Boss 429

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The holy grail of the Mustangs. With only 1358 original Boss 429s made, this version of the Mustang has long been the most sought out version due to its rarity. This model needed some serious modifications just to get the massive engine to fit. Coming in at over 500 HP, the Boss 429 remains the high point of the “American Muscle” race.

1971 Mach 1

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The end of an era for the GT models. Competing with itself, the Mustang had 6 factory performance models available (GT, Boss 302, Boss 429, Shelby GT350, Shelby GT500 and the Mach 1). The Mach 1 outsold the GT model by almost 70,000 units and thus ending the GT program at Ford.

1978 King Cobra

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While many of you may think this model just flat out sucks, it really is something to behold. In an era of economic staleness and an oil shortage, car companies were in a race to make economic vehicles a priority. For years, models were pretty busted until they dropped a V-8 in this version. A small 4,313 units were sold but the sell through was good so by 1979, a new Mustang was introduced.

2007 Shelby GT500 Super Snake

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With a supercharger upgrade kit featuring a blown 5.4-liter V-8, and a return to the styling that made Mustangs the car everybody wants in their driveway, the Super Snake was a return to greatness for Ford.One sold at auction last year for a reasonable $68K

2012 Cobra Jet

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the Cobra Jet hit the car shows in 2010 as a concept car but found its way into some special orders by the time 2012 rolled around. With only 50 made at a mere $100K, the Jet featured a 5.4L supercharged engine with a 4.0 liter Ford Racing Whipple supercharger. Can you say dangerous?

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OG Eleanor- 1973 Mustang

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The epic movie and the Mustang that created a movement. Eleanor looks like it has some Mach 1 styling, but make no mistake, this thing was a souped up bad-bitch. With blackout treatment to the lower bodyside and over 250 hours of modifications to the movie car, this beauty had boys everywhere dreaming of having their own Eleanor one day.

1967 Mustang Eleanor

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2000 saw the reissue of a classic…Gone in 60 Seconds. The reintroduction of Eleanor was huge for Ford. The new version was a Dupont Pepper Grey, 1967 Ford Mustang fastback Shelby GT500. Memphis Raines(Nick Cage) loved this car and so does the car world. Eleanor hit the block in 2013 and fetched a cool $1,000,000

Hoonicorn RTR – 850 HP “1965 Mustang”

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A heavily modded old Mustang, The Hoonicorn became famous at the hands of Ken Block and his incredible Gymkhana 6 video. Block said of this car, “It’s a mix of influences and inspirations that include the current crop of WRC cars, DTM cars, and even toy cars from my youth.” Whatever it is, it’s all badass.

1968 Fastback Mustang – Bullitt

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When Steve McQueen took to the streets of San Francisco in the epic cop movie Bullitt, For knew that his choice of the Mustang would have a huge impact on sales that year. There were four 1968 Mustang 390 GT cars made for the film. three were ruined and sent to the junkyard and crushed, the last was claimed by a studio exec and still remains intact in a southern California garage to this day.

2011 Shelby GT350

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This version came in hot with a 5.0-liter V-8 and a banging supercharger to sneak that horsepower to up to a very respectable 500. Hitting the showroom floor at $33,000 was a treat for muscle car enthusiasts.