Introduced for 1968, the California Special ran between February and August, making the GT/CS especially collectible. Pictured in white, the car in the featured video is one of those 4,118 examples produced in 1968.
This particular California Special rocks the 289-ci V8, a.k.a. the Challenger engine. In terms of gross horsepower, the Dearborn-based automaker promised 195 ponies with the standard two-barrel carburetor. Net horsepower is a very different affair, but that's not all…
More than 55 years after it rolled off the assembly line, said engine doesn't make the same power it did when brand-spanking new. Racing at more than a mile above sea level also means fewer ponies due to thinner air, a problem that also applies to the modern-day Mustang.
Rather than the 2024 model with its dual throttle-bodied Coyote V8, the 2014 model in the video below uses a single throttle body to gulp on air. Back then, the 'Yote used to make 420 horsepower and 390 pound-feet (529 Nm). By comparison, the 2024 model cranks out a respectable 480 horsepower and 415 pound-feet (562 Nm). It's even pokier with the optional exhaust, whereas the Dark Horse specification levels up to 500 ponies.
Equipped with three- and six-speed automatics, respectively, the internal combustion-engined 'Stangs aren't exactly fast in the quarter mile. Tommy Mica and big poppa Roman Mica clocked 19.54 and 14.66 seconds, respectively, at 73 and 102 miles per hour. If you prefer the metric system, those numbers convert to 117.4 and 164.1 kilometers per hour, respectively.
Quite a tremendous gap, yet one that is completely unsurprising due to the 46-year difference between these cars. The big question is, can the 2014 model year GT hold its own against the Mustang Mach-E SUV?
Better described as a crossover with Escape-derived underpinnings, the Mach-E capitalizes on the Mustang's heritage with cool styling and pretty good straight-line performance. This example is a Premium with the larger battery and two-motor drivetrain, a combo that means 346 horsepower and 428 pound-feet (580 Nm).
Heavier than the 2014 model, the zero-emission utility vehicle has the upper hand at a mile above sea level due to its electric motors. They also develop torque much quicker than a free-breathing V8 does, but alas, the Mach-E and the real thing are extremely close in the quarter mile. As per The Fast Lane, their best times were 14.33 seconds at 100 miles per hour (161 kilometers per hour) and 14.65 seconds at 102 mph (164.1 kph).
The ensuring rolling race also concluded with the Mach-E finishing ahead of the 2014, but only just. As for the braking test, it's genuinely surprising that the heavier Mach-E outbraked the decade-old GT by one foot (117 versus 118 feet or just around 35.6 and 35.9 meters).
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News