Blog

Jul 26, 2023

This Eighties Ford Mustang Race Car Might Be the Coolest Car On Sale Right Now

Not only is it a sight to behold, this 1984 Roush Protofab Mustang powered both Willy T. Ribbs and Scott Pruett to championships. When you think "Ford Mustang race car" you likely think of an original

Not only is it a sight to behold, this 1984 Roush Protofab Mustang powered both Willy T. Ribbs and Scott Pruett to championships.

When you think "Ford Mustang race car" you likely think of an original Shelby GT350R dominating SCCA B-Production competition in the Sixties. Or perhaps Ford's new GT3 race car. You should also think about this car, a 1984 Roush Protofab Mustang that competed in both Trans-Am and IMSA GTO to great success. It's up for sale with Canepa right now, and you could argue that it's the coolest car available right now.

For starters, it looks great. Iconic Motorcraft livery, wide bodywork, gold BBS wheels on big Goodyears, what else could you want? Then there's the mechanical components. It's got a steel tube frame chassis and a 5.9-liter Roush-built V-8 that puts out 650 to 800 horsepower depending on its state of tune. That engine is, naturally, pared with a five-speed, H-pattern manual.

So, the car clearly should rip. But maybe even better still is the history. It was originally bodied in 1984 as a Mercury Capri—which shared the same Fox platform as the Mustang—and driven by Willy T. Ribbs in the 1985 Trans-Am season. Ribbs won all but two races that year, and the two he didn't win, he placed second. For 1986, it was turned into a Mustang, and driven in both IMSA GTO and Trans-Am by Scott Pruett. In IMSA, it took four victories and sealed the title for Pruett, and in Trans-Am it won two races and podiumed the rest it entered. Currently, it wears its IMSA GTO livery, and it looks perfect.

The most recent owner of the car was McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown, who ran this car a number of times at the Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca. With any hope, the next owner will exercise the car frequently.

A car enthusiast since childhood, Chris Perkins is Road & Track's engineering nerd and Porsche apologist. He joined the staff in 2016 and no one has figured out a way to fire him since. He street-parks a Porsche Boxster in Brooklyn, New York, much to the horror of everyone who sees the car, not least the author himself. He also insists he's not a convertible person, despite owning three.

The 2024 Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid Has 729 HP

Driver Runs Circles Under Red to Put Out Fire

NASCAR Regular Season Finale Was Good Kind of Bad

Kia EV5 Makes Its Production Debut as Stylish SUV

Lawson Will Stay In F1 Until Ricciardo Heals

C8 Holds Up Remarkably Well After Track-Day Crash

Scott Dixon Wins On Fuel Saving Strategy Again

Preece Released From Hospital After Daytona Crash

Bubba Wallace Secures Final NASCAR Playoff Spot

NASCAR Driver Ryan Preece Rolls Ten Times

2004 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch Retires

The NASCAR Regular Season Leaves Just One Question