Ford Mustang

The Mustang is one of Ford's most iconic models. First introduced in 1962 as a concept sports car, it was put into production two years later as a performance compact sedan and was an instant success. It introduced the concept of the "pony car", smaller muscle cars. Ford entered it in the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-American Sedan Championship and it was immediately competitive. The Mustang was also used in the International Motorsports Association's Grand Touring Championship under the IMSA GTO category. After the Oil Crisis of 1973 the Trans Am Series adopted cars used in IMSA GTO. After the turn of the millennium sports car racing saw a revival. The Mustang today is used in the Michelin Pilot Challenge as well as Trans Am and the World Challenge. It was also used in the Rolex Sports Car Series. Carroll Shelby created special versions of it. When the Mustang was given a retro redesign after the turn of millennium a Boss 302 edition was created inspired by the late sixties Mustangs which competed in Trans Am. The name referred to the 302 cubic inch engine it used. Trans Am tribute livery was used in the Continental Challenge (now the Michelin Challenge) one year. The classic car races at Laguna Seca tributed the Shelby Mustang one year. One special edition is the Bullitt edition, after the iconic action film which featured one of the most famous chase sequences in film history. Originally a simple two-door sedan based on the Ford Falcon, a sporty "fastback" coupe was introduced with a louvered rear window was later introduced. The Mustang was noted for its tri-bar tail lights. From the seventies to nineties these were absent, but in the late nineties were revived, at first horizontal but later changed to the traditional vertical.