We Count Down The Ten Baddest Mustangs In America-Plus A Few Extra.Each year, the MM&FF staff hits the road, traveling all over this wonderful land in search of the baddest and most unique Mustangs we can find. We see some at SEMA, some at the track, some in the car showgrounds, and many more via the Internet. Some make it in our magazine as features, others in event coverage, but there are special ones locked in our minds for another purpose-that is to make the MM&FF Top 10 Mustangs list that we come up with every January.
In what has become an MM&FF tradition, we sit down and lay out the hottest Mustangs that we've seen over the last year and whittle the list down to about 10. It often starts out as 20 or more cars. Slowly (and violently) from there, we pick the 10 hottest, coolest, and downright notable Mustangs of the year.
There is no set criteria: a Mustang can have awesome on-track performance for a race car, it can be a hot new production car, a neat and simple combination that anyone could build, an all-out show car, or a Mustang showcasing a large amount of innovation.
Since it's hard to pick just 10, we even throw in a few honorable mentions. So, without further ado, here are MM&FF's Top 10 Mustangs of 2008.
Jason Duggar, '88 Mustang
We loved this mean machine so much that it graced the Nov. '08 cover. And while the title to Jason's car lists the year and model as an '88 Mustang, only one word can describe the Nov. issue's cover car: Coupri. That name best describes it, as Jason took numerous hours and tons of ingenuity to blend said Mustang with a Mercury Capri. The fenders and quarterpanels were replaced with those from an '84 Capri, after which the front bumper and hood were swapped over to '79 Mustang pieces.
Underhood lies a 347 stroker small-block Ford pumped up with help from a Turbonetics T-76 hairdryer. Not only does the car look great, but it also hauls at the track. Jason has entered the car in True Street a few times, with the ability to rip off 9-second times in the process. While turbocharged cars are becoming more and more popular, the fact that Jason compiled three different cars into one makes his show-stopping Stang our top Mustang of the year. After all, Mercury never made a coupe model.
Ray McClelland, '07 Mustang GT
OK, we have to admit, anyone ballsy enough to put a 300hp shot of nitrous on top of a 1200-plus horsepower stroker Three-Valve with twin 67mm turbos on it is going to get our attention. Throw in the fact that the car is a drop-top '07 Mustang GT that has a need for a rollcage certified by the NHRA for e.t.'s as quick as 8.50, and you have a guaranteed shoe-in for our Top 10 list.
The car we are talking about is the Mustang Ray McClelland and the Full Throttle Kustomz crew put together. While the powerplant speaks for itself, the car does a fair amount of conversing on its own with it's gorgeous Candy Apple Tangerine hue and stunning wheel and tire combo. With race car power and equipment, the car is just as happy sitting in the car show area gleaming in the sunlight. It's amazing how one truly badass car can look so hot. We just have to wonder if the window net cuts down on your hair blowing in the breeze at triple-digit speeds. Either way, it was good enough to be showcased in our April '08 issue.