Ford Mustang 40th Anniversary

Nobody wants to be a Mustang nincompoop. Armed with a few key Mustang morsels of wisdom, you can amaze your friends, gather approving nods, and score valuable "gotcha" points at the next Mustang club picnic. For instance, Ford never officially sold a 19641/2 Mustang. There were early 1965s, delivered from April through August of 1964, and late 1965s sold afterwards. All first-year Mustangs were registered and titled as 1965 models. Now, here's a few more Mustang factoids bound to earn you benchracing kudos.

Quickest mustang (race car)
John Force blasted his Ford Mustang funny car to an amazing 4.72-second quarter-mile pass during the 2003 NHRA Sears Craftsman Nationals. Too bad it's powered by a Chrysler Hemi-style engine.

Quickest Mustang (factory stock)
In 2003, Motor Trend hustled a 2003 Mustang SVT Cobra to a 12.84 at 113.18 mph on stock radials. A few years earlier we ran a 2000 Mustang SVT Cobra R to a nearly identical 12.88 at 112.77 mph.

Fastest Mustang (race car)
At 327.43 mph, Force teammate Gary Densham is the guy who's piloted the fastest Mustang funny car in history.

Fastest Stock Mustang(factory stock)
In 2003, we circled the high-bank five-mile oval at Ford's Desert Proving Grounds in a 2003 Mustang Cobra to record a 159-mph run. With the supercharged 4.6-liter V-8 still pulling hard, the Cobra's electronic speed limiter kicked in and halted the fun.

Fastest Land-Speed Mustang
During the 1997 Bonneville Speed Trials, Bill Wideman piloted his "Old Muscle" 1966 Mustang fastback to a two-way average of 233.529 mph as he skimmed across the hard-packed salt. The car made use of an 875-horsepower 302-cube V-8 fed by a pair of turbochargers.

Total Mustang Sales
As of the end of the 2003 model year, Ford has produced 7,745,907 Mustangs.