ord Mustangs are popular cars for obvious reasons. They helped place performance into the hands of the people when the first-generation car was launched in 1965, they've always had great potential for modifications, and for many they help symbolise American motoring better than anything else on the road.
The notion of spending more than six figures on a Mustang sort of defies their story — let alone nearly half a million bucks. But that's exactly what auction house Auctions America are forecasting with this amazingly clean 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429.
Heading into auction late next week in all of its beautiful burgundy glory, this Boss is expected to sell for between US$275–300,000. That's NZ$400–430,000 — for something that, at its core, is still a Mustang.
That said, if you must have one, a Boss is surely the most quintessential of all Mustangs. Especially if there's a 429 cubic-inch V8 under the bonnet instead of the 302. The engine doesn't just signify a boost in speed and noise, but also a huge boost in desirability.
Just 1358 Boss 429 Mustangs were ever made across 1969 and 1970, making this one of the most limited Mustangs produced. They were produced to help Ford homologate the 429 engine for use in Nascar as a direct challenger (ha, pun) for Dodge's 426 Hemi engine.
Ford, noted for playing the game, rated the engine at only 280kW when it was released. The reality however was that they had more than 500hp (370kW). Not bad for 1969.
The inclusion of an enormous engine (well, more enormous than usual) meant that a lot of chopping and changing had to be done underneath the Mustang's frontal bodywork. This mainly comprised of changes to the suspension set-up to help clear out room for the 429's headers.
Of course, this particular car is made special by a number of other elements too, not just the engine. For one, it's in fantastic nick. It's only driven 36,000 miles, and that shows in its condition throughout.
Those sharp and shining panels, the dirt (or lack of) in the engine bay, and also the cleanliness of the interior. It's not quite all original, having been resprayed in Royal Maroon (a factory colour), but I think we can forgive it for that.
While in excess of 400k is a lot of money for a Mustang, note that it's not exactly unprecedented for a Boss 429. One of them, a restored example in black, sold for US$500,000 (NZ$718,000!) last year at a Barrett-Jackson auction in Florida. It's also not the most expensive Mustang you can buy, either, with some of those decorated with the late Carroll Shelby's name worth even more.
According to the listing, this 429 comes with its full stack of documents. They include a couple of crucial pieces of paper that help certify it as a genuine 429; namely a shipping receipt from Kar Kraft (the Michigan company who modified the suspension in these things to fit the huge V8 donk), a letter from the Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Centre, and a partial build sheet.
This is a lot of money to spend on a Mustang. But, if you simply had have one, surely it doesn't get much better than this.
