Throughout the halls of the MM&FF offices, the staff can consistently be heard discussing which are the coolest Mustangs on the planet. Is it a record-breaking class car in Outlaw, a wildly built streeter, or some factory-built hot rod? Each year we travel from event to event looking for these modified Mustangs for the purpose of putting them in our mag. We hit the local tracks, and we stay on the lookout as we cruise to and from work. Images of killer Stangs also come to us by way of the Internet and snail mail.
But what is considered cool? For us, it could be any combination of parts that excites us in one way or another. That being the case, it has been a while since we compiled a "coolest car" list, so we though it a good idea to pool our thoughts and come up with the 10 coolest Mustang of 2006. Besides, it sure makes a great cover theme.
At the end of every year, we always look back at the events. Undoubtedly there were certain things we saw or experienced that separate the past year from the others. With 2007 just a tick away, we went to the '06 archives and found some pretty wild, and downright nasty, rides. After some long hours spent bench racing at MM&FF Command Central, we came up with the most bitchin' rides of 2006.
We looked at all the photos and weighed the pros and cons of each Stang. The following is our list of the Top 10 Mustangs of 2006, along with a few honorable mentions. For the record, there is no particular order to them-they're all quite cool in our minds. Now, kick back and indulge in some mighty hot Mustang iron.
Charlie Booze '93 Mustang
OK, let's just say it outright. Any car that spends the first 330 feet of a quarter-mile pass draggin' its rear bumper is going to make the Top 10 list. It's that simple. Add to that the fact that Charlie Booze's GT is feared at all NMRA Hot Street events, and it's a shoe-in. Fact is, people run to the fence to watch this red rocket run.
Booze also drove the Mustang to the 8.8-second zone for the first time in Hot Street trim, and he continued to mow down everyone who got in his way. His ride is powered by a Kuntz & Co. small-block and backed by an automatic tranny. The '04 season saw him qualify number one at every event. In 2005, he backed it up with another Hot Street championship, and this year he is the odds-on favorite to win it again. All of that makes him and his Stang a Top 10 contender. By the way, did we mention wheelies are really cool?
Ford -Shelby GT500
Arguably the most anticipated Mustang in history, the GT500 splits the difference between the Mustang GT and the Ford GT. With the Mustang's redesign in 2005 featuring retro lines, it was only a matter of time before the crew at Ford came up with the S197's version of the Cobra.
Featuring an iron-block 5.4L Four-Valve monster, the potent mod motor is topped by a Roots-style blower that pushes the horsepower figure to the magic 500 mark. Add into the equation the Shelby name, the fact that Editor/test pilot Evan Smith got the August cover car to run a 12.25 at 117 in the quarter-mile, and that mildly modded versions are already in the 10s, and you can see why it made it in the Top 10.
George Lambert '80 Mustang Cobra
Anytime you can restomod an older Mustang, it's cool beyond belief. But we fell for the Cobra of George Lambert, who combined the old with the new when he transplanted a full drivetrain and interior from a wrecked '04 Terminator into his '80 Cobra, which appeared in our November issue.
Talk about modding your Fox! The Cobra, painted in a PPG purple haze pigment, features a mostly stock Four-Valve, supercharged Cobra motor, but it was perfectly fitted to the early Fox. Open the doors and you'll see the '04's interior grafted into the '80's cabin-sweet. Lambert went so far as to create custom door panels out of floral-arrangement foam and bathroom paneling, and he used a door handle from a Ford Ranger. The ingenuity behind this swap is what earned this Fox-body a spot in the Top 10.