Ford Mustang 2001 News

The world’s favourite tyre-shredder is back, but this time Ken has left the block behind and is heading for higher ground.

The NSW Police Force hasn’t given up on securing the Ford Mustang GT as a highway patrol vehicle, despite running into several hurdles with the US-built rear-wheel-drive V8.

Waiting for a new car is never easy. It could be a week or it could be a year — even longer — but a delivery hold-up still means delayed satisfaction.

The Ford teams in V8 Supercars racing are hoping a lifeline from the USA will keep them tied to the blue oval brand after the end of the Falcon.

The dream of a Ford Mustang in the V8 Supercars series is one step closer to becoming a reality.

Ford dealers are prepared to put in more than $1 million a year to save one of Australia's greatest sporting rivalries in a move that could see a Mustang take on the Holden Commodore in 2017.

Hoonicorn Mustang makes its video debut in Los Angeles with Ken block's Gymkhana 7.Proving that 1.8-litres was never enough - even bolted to a whopping turbocharger and purpose-built Fiesta gymkhana weapon, Ken Block has returned for his seventh blast to internet stardom.This time set around the crumbling concrete of downtown Los Angeles, Block's latest effort proves that his new 630kW, 6.7-litre all-wheel drive Ford Mustang can be just as spectactular when thrown rearwards with all four wheels spinning forwards, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.Officially named the Hoonicorn RTR, the 1965 Mustang-based mechanical monster made its static debut at SEMA earlier this month.Gymkhana 7 opens in an industrial warehouse with Block introducing the new car by way of his latest trick - doing a burnout whilst the car is chained to a wall.The restraints are released and Block heads off on his tour of Tinseltown.Past the burnt-out shell of a Subaru WRX rotting in the pristine waters of the LA River before indulging in a few doughnuts at the famous Randy's, and into Chinatown.Block also enjoys an unusual traffic-free run down one of the city's freeways, drives circles around and under a bouncing Chevy low-rider before finishing in typical style atop Mount Lee, looking over the City of Angels and its smog-filled sky from the iconic Hollywood sign.The occasional-World Rally Championship driver and part-time shoe salesman's heavily choreographed Gymkhana videos have earned him global praise for his ability to navigate obstacle courses, city centres and the odd movie set with guile and a liberal application of the handbrake.

Ken Block swaps Fiesta for Mustang with his latest gymkhana weapon.Size doesn't matter, they say. Tell that to Ken Block.The US stunt/racing driver/entrepreneur has upgraded his Ford Fiesta with its relatively puny 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine to a 1965 Ford Mustang sporting a 6.7-litre V8.While it might take its design cues from the iconic original Mustang that celebrates its 50th birthday this year, the only original components you'll find on Block's version are the head and tail lights, as well as the pony badge on the front. The rest - much like the recent Project Sandman - is 100 per cent modern race car.This is hands-down the best Gymkhana car I’ve had yetThe naturally-aspirated V8 engine produces 630kW and 975Nm which is put to the road by a bespoke 6-speed sequential transmission that distributes the power to all four wheels. Ford only ever put the power to the back two.The suspension is custom-built, and the 18" wheels are shod with Pirelli tyres in a compound made specifically for Block. Not even a Formula One team gets that sort of attention from the Italian rubber company.Motorsport connections don't stop there as Block says the design of the car has also been influenced by current generation WRC and DTM cars, bringing together the classic Mustang silhouette with all the performance benefits of modern aerodynamics and carbon fibre construction."The attention to detail with the fabrication and bodywork blows my mind," Block said."This is hands-down the best Gymkhana car I’ve had yet."The car is currently on display at the SEMA motor show in Las Vegas, but those unable to get there in person will see it in Block's upcoming ‘Gymkhana SEVEN’ video.Block's previous gymkhana efforts have seen him display immense car control and driving skill in a variety of different locations, including usually busy streets of downtown San Francisco.More recently, Block has been getting around the ski slopes of Canada in a Ford F-150 RaptorTRAX. It can also do burnouts, despite its lack of wheels.

The upcoming 2015 Ford Mustang muscle car could keep Ford in the V8 Supercar championship. Prominent V8 Supercars team owner Rod Nash says Ford's famous Mustang-branded muscle car could be the future for the brand in the Australian motorsports category.The last model of the Ford Falcon is set to be released toward the end of the year and Ford's decision to cease local manufacturing by October 2016 has increased doubts over the company's continuing participation in V8 Supercars.Nash, who is a co-owner in the factory-backed Ford Performance Racing (FPR) team, believes the two-door Mustang coupe could be the car to keep Ford in the championship. A sixth-generation version of the Mustang is due for release in Australia in the latter part of next year.Nash says the possibility of racing the car in future years of the V8s is one his team has to look at. "The opportunity is there for a V8 Supercar to be a two-door," Nash said before the round in Townsville this weekend."If we want to do a two-door vehicle going forward then that will be part of it. It's all part of manufacturers going forward and being able to accommodate what they want to do."With the Holden Commodore also facing extinction no later than 2017, V8 Supercars has opened itself to the possibility of changing current regulations to allow two-door coupes to race alongside or in place of the current four-door sedan designs allowed. If that change is adopted, not only will Ford be able to race Mustangs but cars such as Chevrolet Camaros and Dodge Challengers could join the grid."Nothing is granted until you put it up through the V8 Supercars Commission," Nash said. "Any subject has to go up so it's not mandated that you just go out and do it."

In April 1964, Gail Brown was 22 year old elementary school teacher and getting to work in her mother's '57 Ford Fairlane 500 convertible. She wanted a car of her own. It had to be cool and it had to be a convertible. Gail went to Johnson Ford in Chicago on April 15th, 1964. After looking at all of cars in the showroom she told the sales representative that nothing appealed to her. With a grin, he said, "I've got something in the back that's really new." In a storeroom, still under a cover, was a brand-new Ford Mustang convertible in Skylight Blue, with a 260-cubic-inch V8 engine and Rally Pac instrumentation. "That's what I want!" Gail said. It cost her $3,419. What makes Gail Brown unique is that she bought her Mustang on April 15th, two days before the car was set to go on sale, by chance becoming the first known retail buyer of an American icon. Today, Gail recalls with a great deal of fondness those early days of Mustang ownership: "I was the coolest teacher in the school that year and the boys fawned over the Mustang" she said "I felt like a movie star everywhere I went for the first few months," said Gail. "I remember everyone waving and flagging me down and giving me high-fives." In 1966, Gail married longtime sweetheart Tom Wise. The Mustang first became the family car and was then it was relegated into being the backup car for the growing family. Fifteen years of Chicago winters and everything four kids could throw at it eventually started to catch up with the car. By 1979 the mudguards were rusting, the floors were giving way and mechanical gremlins were making it difficult to rely on . So it was pushed into the garage and spent the next 27 years there. When Tom retired he began a restoration project and by 2007 all of the rust was cut out, a new top installed, the body repainted and all of the mechanicals repaired. Now their children have children, and as you can imagine the car is very popular in the family. "The grandkids love it, everybody loves it," says Gail. "We all go for rides around town". David Burrell is the editor of www.retroautos.com.au