Autoworld celebrated the 60th anniversary of America’s iconic sportscar with its temporary exhibition titled “Ford Mustang 60 Years: Celebrating the Golden Sixties”. The Belgian auto museum dedicated the entire month of May and June to this show, lining up several interesting specimens and a spectacular drive-in theatre setting from those days. For more info on access, dates and opening hours, visit their website.
You will have plenty of time to see it for yourself, but if you already know you won’t make it, we will present you with our personal favourites. And if you are looking for even more unusual cars, we will offer you some desserts at the end of the article.
The first row enlists a yellow 1968 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 KR Convertible (KR standing for King of the Road, for the 428 ci Cobra Jet Engine producing around 335 hp), a 1971 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Eleanor (hero car of the 2000 film Gone in 60 Seconds), a 1966 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350H “Hertz” edition (when Carroll Shelby convinced Hertz to order 1,001 Ford Mustangs modified by his shop for a Rent-A-Race program) and a 1964 Ford Mustang Convertible (cameras loved this white cabrio with red interior combo, including a placement in the James Bond movie Goldfinger). Each has a unique background story and is celebrated among Mustang aficionados.
The second row focuses on the second generation and starts with a red 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 302. The 428 cu in (7.0 L) Cobra Jet FE engine needed a more fabulous name, as Grand Tourer or King of the Road would not cut it, so they came up with Mach 1.
The black 1977 Ford Mustang II Cobra is almost an understatement, especially next to the newer models, like the red 2000 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra R and the 2008 Ford Mustang Bullīt, which honour the movie icon with its colour choice.
The third line starts with a 1977 Ford Mustang II Monroe Handler, with a unique body kit illustrating Monroe’s new suspension. And indeed, the Gen II Mustang badly needed the show.
Show is what you got with the next car, the 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Trans Am, a replica of Parne Jones’ Trans Am racing car.
The following car is a 1979 Ford Mustang Indianapolis Pace Car, followed by a white 2006 Ford Mustang FR500C GT4 and closing with a red 2007 Ford Mustang FR500C GT3 entered by the Belgian VDS race team.
The curators secured several additional cars, including a rainbow-coloured Gen 1 and a vehicle invoking the movie Le Mans 66 (Ford Vs Ferrari) in Autoworld’s bistro.
But we can’t quite figure out why they chose the Ice Queen with the strange engine cover…
After the galleries, we promised you a few unique specimens. Autoworld did not disappoint with the selection of royal cars either. These include a 1948 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith that belonged to Prince Regent Charles, a 1958 Cadillac Fleetwood, and a 1965 Lincoln Continental from King Baudoin’s royal fleet.
The crown jewel (pun intended) was the 1954 Cadillac Series 62 State Limousine, which also served as the wedding car of the Royal couple Baudouin and Fabiola in 1960. For this occasion, a particular plexi top was manufactured by coachbuilder Vesters & Neirinck from Brussels.
In addition, three prewar cars awaited on the podium by the stairs for those who still could not get enough of mastodons. The red 1934 Belga Rise BR8, the green Rolls and the beige Minerva form quite a trio.
