V-6 Terlingua Racing Team Mustang

These days it seems that tuned Mustangs are as proliferate as iPods, but every now and then one will catch our attention as something more than just another horse in the pack.

One such example is the V-6 Terlingua Racing Team Mustang. There are a few reasons this Mustang variant deserves special attention, starting with the history behind it. The Terlingua Racing Team has roots in the 1960s when Ford first came to racing legend and creator of the AC Cobra, Carroll Shelby, to create a serious competition machine from its new Mustang. Shelby and his racing associates were based in Terlingua, Texas, at the time where their reputation for motorsports victory and a wild lifestyle was becoming widespread. Even actor and consummate car nut Steve McQueen was a member of the Terlingua Team. This prompted Bill Neale, Terlingua Racing Team member No. 2 and co-founder, to design the famous black and yellow "prancing rabbit" logo that became the team's trademark. First worn to victory by racer and engineer Ken Miles in 1965, the logo adorns the hood of the V-6 Terlingua Team Mustang just as it did on countless competition cars of years gone by.

And it's not just the history that makes this Mustang unique. The fact that the Terlingua Racing Team chose to modify a V-6 version of the Mustang also makes this car notable. While most tuners eschew Ford's 4.0-liter, 210 horsepower "entry-level" powerplant in favor of the more potent V-8, Terlingua figured it offers more performance per dollar than its larger brother and offers young drivers a way to get involved in motorsports.

Rather than rely on prodigious power, the V-6 Terlingua Racing Team Mustang focuses largely on the car's underpinnings. Modified brake and suspension components have been designed in an effort to give the car more control in performance driving -- although an optional supercharger brings horsepower levels up to 375 should the customer desire a bit more kick. A new "deep draw" hood, 20-inch Razor wheels, and other styling changes give the Mustang an attitude to back up its increased performance. Bill Neale figures the car is suitable for nearly any form of motorsports, including drifting, drag racing and road racing.

The V-6 Terlingua Racing Team Mustang is built utilizing the customer's standard V-6-equipped Mustang and is given a unique Shelby serial number. Official factory shops, including Shelby's Las Vegas garage, will install the $7,995 Terlingua Racing Team kit to finish the transformation. The Terlingua Racing Team also currently produces a 1967 Terlingua continuation model Mustang that replicates the team's vintage Trans Am racer. The cost is significantly more than Terlingua's more modern Mustang, at $99,500.