Offered in three body styles, the third generation of the Mustang also happens to be the longest-lived pony car produced by Ford. The secret to its longevity is the Fox platform, which gave us the Fox-body Mustang nomenclature even though unibody means more than exterior panels.
Greatly improved twice during its life cycle, the Fox-based pony kept its head up high during the Malaise Era when the base motor came in the guise of an 88-horsepower Pinto four-cylinder. The Ford Motor Company even had to drop the 5.0 in favor of a smaller V8 for a few years due to the second oil crisis, but the small-block engine came back with a back in the 1980s.
Chip Foose is a huge Fox-body Mustang fan, especially the fastback. On this occasion, however, the automobile designer and customizer decided to give the notchback body style a few subtle tweaks with Shelby cues.
“Flat and square” is how the original is described, which is why the design sketch has received flared wheel arches, lowering springs and coilovers, a hood scoop, aerodynamic improvements, and a decklid spoiler for good measure. No Foose makeover would be complete without a set of aftermarket wheels, and the same can be said about a stripeless Shelby-branded Mustang.
The finishing touch is the “5.0 Shelby” decal on the driver's side, which brings us back to the 302-cu in powerplant. If the one and only Carroll were to have worked his magic on this car in the early 1990s, chances are he would have given the V8 a number of upgrades from the Cobra or Cobra R versions.
The street-legal Cobra R for the 1993 model year is one of the rarest ‘Stangs ever produced because it numbers 107 examples of the breed. All of them were specified with Vibrant Red Clearcoat, which is arguably the best exterior color for a notchback coupe that hits 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers) per hour in 5.7 seconds. Top speed? Make that 140 mph (225 kph), thank you!
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
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