By now it's quite obvious that the current Ford Mustang is a tuning goldmine. That Coyote engine is built to handle more power and loves a supercharger. Plus, the traditional owner relishes the ability to make their car different and unique compared to the next guy or gal.
There's also a huge amount of history to the nameplate, particularly in motorsport. In the '60s and '70s, Mustang race cars were plentiful. Of course there's the beasts that Carroll Shelby raced, but you've also got characters like George Follmer, Mark Donohue, Parnelli Jones, and the like.
And, closer to home, there was the illustrious 'Coke Mustang' of Allan Moffat.
Debuting in 1969, Canadian-born Moffat and his Mustang quickly established themselves to be a formidable duo.
The Trans-Am Boss 302 was a menacing enough car to begin with, but combined with a steep rake and a striking paint-scheme and it became an incredibly sinister beast on track. As well as being popular with fans in the stands.
Moffat and his Mustang ended up claiming 101 race victories from 151 starts in various Aussie touring-car categories. To date, his Mustang is held in often just as high a regard as any of his Bathurst 1000–winning Ford Falcons.
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This year marks the 50th anniversary of the arrival of that fateful Mustang, and so Supercars Championship team and fledgling tuning company Tickford decided they wanted to pay homage to Moffat's Mustang with a new beast of their own.
The Tickford Trans-Am shares plenty of visual cues with its racing forefather. The Race Red paint is complimented by an accurate striping package as well as the return of various old-school logos (including Coca-Cola, of course).
Other throwbacks include a pair of fog-lights in the grill, and a set of stupendous 20-inch Minilite wheels. There's also a big rear wing, a red leather interior, and a plate signed by Moffat topping it all off.
There will be two flavours of Tickford Trans-Am Mustang on offer; the Performance Edition and Performance Plus Edition.
Each will make use of a Tickford 400 tune, which brings power up to 400kW from the 5.0-litre Coyote V8 — 61kW more than stock.
“The Tickford Trans-Am is probably the most exciting car project I have ever been part of,” said Moffat. “It has made an old racer like me feel proud of my racing history and what I have been involved with.
“My original ’69 Trans-Am Mustang was an incredible race car and I have so many great memories of the battles I won on track. I think Tickford have done a tremendous job in designing a new interpretation of the original with some of the Coca-Cola car features that I loved including those wheels. I just wish I could race it.”
While the Tickford Trans-Am isn't offered in New Zealand, that's unlikely to stop those who are keen for a slice of Australian touring car nostalgia.
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Pricing for the package starts at AU$32,995 (excluding a donor car), with the range-topping Performance Plus Edition starting at AU$52,995. Just 100 will be built, with production set to start in October.
