6 Of The Best Ford Mustangs Of All Time

By Gary Gastelu |

Aug 4, 2025

The 1965 and 2015 Mustang GT350Rs — Credit: Ford

The Ford Mustang celebrated its 60th anniversary this year with a special edition trim, but it was really more like 60-and-a-half years.

The 1965 Mustang debuted on April 17, 1964 and the earliest cars have come to be known as 1964.5 models.

Regardless, the Mustang has been in continuous production ever since across seven generations and dozens of models, but some versions stand out among the herd.

1965 MUSTANG SHELBY GT350

Ford had no trouble selling Mustangs when it first launched. It delivered 418,000 in its first year on the market and broke one million in less than two years. Worried that it might become considered to common, it teamed up with Carroll Shelby to create the high performance Mustang Shelby GT350 to go racing with. It was equipped with a 306 hp tuned version of the Mustang’s 289-cubic-inch V8, an upgraded transmission, brakes and suspension, plus racy bucket seats. Ford built just 562 street and race cars combined, but they’ve become among the most sought-after American collector cars today.

1969 MUSTANG BOSS 302

1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 — Credit: Ford

The Mustang Boss 302 was another racer for the road, but created in-house by Ford. Based on the updated 1969 car, it was designed with the Trans Am racing series in mind and came powered by a 290 hp 302-cubic-inch (5.0-liter) V8 to meet the regulations and sold with a four-speed manual transmission. Its chin splitter, rear wing and strengthened drivetrain and suspension were engineered with track performance in mind. The car was a big hit with a total of 8,641 in 1969 and 1970.

1984 MUSTANG SVO

The Mustang took a wrong turn in its second generation, when new emissions rules and high gas prices turned the Mustang II into something of the appliance Ford feared it might become, but it was replaced after its short 1974-1978 run with the all new Fox body model that righted the ship. It took a couple of years to come into its own, but became very popular in the 1980s with its revived V8 engine power. However, the most unusual model was the Mustang SVO (Special Vehicle Operations) that was meant to compete with the European sports cars of the day. It came powered by a turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder rated at 175 hp and 210 lb-ft in a day when the Mustang GT’s 5.0-liter V8 was rated at 175 hp and 245 lb-ft. Thanks in part to a lighter weight, the Mustang SVO could keep up with the Mustang GT in a race to 60 mph, which they could both reach in about 7.5 seconds. The Mustang SVO was sold through 1986 and it wouldn’t be until 2015 that Ford built another turbocharged Mustang.

2000 MUSTANG SVT COBRA R

The 1999-2001 Mustang SVT Cobra was the first Mustang to feature a rear independent suspension, but the Mustang Cobra R that 2000 took things to the extreme. It was the only Cobra offered for the model year. Just 300 red examples were built with a 385 hp 5.4-liter V8, a six-speed manual transmission, a lowered suspension with Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks, a removable front splitter, a high rear wing and no radio or air conditioning.

2015 MUSTANG SHELBY GT350

Ford resurrected the GT350 for the Mustang’s 50th anniversary and it more than lived up to the original’s reputation. The model was equipped with the 526 hp 5.2-liter “Voodo” V8, which featured a flat-plane crankshaft and was redlined at a 8,500 rpm, which made it more like an exotic car than a muscle car. It was only offered with a six-speed manual transmission and a computer-controlled suspension system and could be ordered as the hardcore GT350R, which added engine oil, differential, and transmission fluid coolers, a stiffer suspension, carbon fiber wheels and a large rear wing for additional downforce.

2025 MUSTANG GTD

While the Mustang 60th Anniversary Package is just an appearance kit for the Mustang GT, the Mustang GTD is a very sexy 60-year-old. The $327,960 model was inspired by the Mustang GT3 racing car and features widebody styling, an 815 hp supercharged 5.2-liter V8, and eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transaxle and a rear transverse pushrod-activated suspension system that takes up all the room in the trunk and can be viewed through a window in the rear wall of the cabin. The Mustang GTD was the first car from an American brand to break the seven-minute lap mark at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, a record that has since been claimed by the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X … at least until there’s another Mustang that can take it back.