Ford selling Richard Petty limited-edition Mustang: When Ford launches a new Mustang, expect it to take over the SEMA show. Last year's edition of the aftermarket bacchanal in Vegas was rife with varying takes on Ford's latest iteration of its venerable pony car, not the least of which was a certain GT built by Petty's Garage. Buoyed by popular opinion, Ford teamed up with the King's operation and decided to churn out a limited series of the cars, available for order at your local Ford dealer on a first-come, first-serve basis. Limited to a total of 143 cars for 2015-100 Stage 1 examples and 43 Stage 2 cars-the Petty's Garage Mustang GTs churn out 627 horsepower courtesy of a Ford Racing/Roush blower bolted to the Coyote V-8. That, if you're counting, is within loogie-hocking distance of the recent 662-horse Shelby GT500. A center-exit exhaust system from Magnaflow takes care of noxious evacuation, while up front, a custom fascia suggests to the world that you roll with NASCAR royalty. Inside, you get Richard Petty's John Hancock on the dash, custom floor mats, and embroidered headrests. Twenty-inch HRE wheels shod with Continental tires round out the package. The run of 100 is available in any Mustang color. The Stage 2 builds on the Stage 1 cars with big Wilwood stoppers under three-piece HRE wheels. Stage 2s are also finished with a custom two-tone paint job; it features pearlized Ford Tuxedo Black over Petty Blue blended with crushed and tumbled glass. King Richard's omnipresent #43 is ghosted onto the hood and C-pillar. Example number one was purchased by a singing Englishman who joined a little Australian rock 'n' roll band 35 years ago and cut a few records. Yep, noted hat-wearer and car nut Brian Johnson of AC/DC has already splashed out for the first Stage 2 car, leaving a mere 42 up for grabs. The price? $62,210 for the Stage 1, roughly in line with the old GT500. If, however, you can't live without the three-piece wheels and fancy paint, be prepared to lay down $30,000 more.(Car and Driver)(4-15-2015)
