Ford Is Bringing a “Rocket Car” to Oshkosh 2015
The 2015 Ford Mustang Apollo Edition
Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed!
From the lunar surface to the open roads of Earth, the Apollo edition Mustang has arrived, and it’s no ordinary rocket car; this car sports a seriously cool Saturn V paint job. Ford has fused two American icons—the Apollo mission rockets and its legendary Mustang—into one badass salute to the US space program.
Now, when you take an iconic vehicle and deck it out in tribute decor, things might seem a little cheesy (here’s looking at you, Harley-Davidson F-150s). But even though this car won’t be blasting off into space anytime soon, it does serve a purpose—upholding a Ford tradition that’s been running for seven years.
In Oshkosh, Wisconsin, there’s an annual air show at Wittman Regional Airport called the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Oshkosh fly-in. Since 2008, Ford has rolled out special edition Mustangs for the show. Previous cars have paid tribute to the F-35 Lightning stealth fighter, the fast and furious SR-71 Blackbird, the Tuskegee Airmen, and the USAF Thunderbirds flight demonstration squadron.
And like the tributes before it, this year’s aeronautical Mustang is packed with seriously cool features. Is your mouth watering yet? Keep reading to savor the delight of this amazing pony.
Out-of-this-World Design
Remember watching the awesome stock footage of the Saturn V rocket launch over and over? That image will pop right into your head when you take a look at this car.
The Mustang’s red, black, and white color scheme is striped along the interior. The simple black-and-white panel scheme makes up the exterior of the car and matches the historic rocket quite well. On the side panels in front of the doors are American flag and USA decals. When you’re blasting through space and time in this car, you’ll want the aliens to know you’re from the good old United States.
In case they don’t know what “USA” stands for, it’s branded vertically down the hood, just like the lettering on the side of the Saturn V.
You’ll also notice the slick ground FX: orange spotlights that suggest you might be igniting those reverse thrusters for landing. Amazing.
While you unfortunately won’t be travelling at a few times the speed of sound, there’s an impressive amount of power under the hood: 627 horsepower, to be exact, from a 5.0-liter supercharged Coyote V8. The tribute ‘Stang also sports upgraded shocks, Brembo brakes, 21-inch Forgiato wheels, and side exhausts. The 2015 was originally designed to be like an airplane, and even has the mph written as “ground speed” so it’s not too far of a stretch to turn it into a space ship.
Your Own Personal Rocket
Now that you’ve been spoiled with all the details, you’re probably wondering what it will take to get this pony in your garage. A bit of bad news—this one-off car is being auctioned for charity at the air show on July 23rd, and it will most likely be sold at a hefty price tag.
All proceeds from the auction will go toward EAA youth education programs, such as the Young Eagles. The Young Eagles have introduced more than one million young aviation enthusiasts to the joys of flying through free introductory flights.
If you’d like to have your own personal rocket, you might want to consider making one small step to the Oshkosh air show, and one giant leap of money for a good cause!
Gallery: 2015 Ford Mustang Apollo Edition
Scott Huntington is a writer, blogger, and car enthusiast. He loves all
things muscle cars and can often be found in the garage or at the track.
Check out his blog offthethrottle.com or follow him on Twitter.