The Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration was cause enough for a sort of mini-U.S. tour for Ford’s iconic muscle car, with dual events inviting enthusiasts to racetracks in Charlotte and Las Vegas. In Part One of our report on the big party we stop in Vegas for horses in the desert.
The April Sin City event at the Las Vegas International Speedway invited everyone who loves this iconic car to join with Ford officials for a birthday party commemorating the arrival of America’s first great, affordable sports car.
While intended for owners and fans of the Ford Mustang, any car lover was welcome to attend – making for crowds in the thousands enjoying the perfect, dry Vegas weather.
Horsepower Caravan
The Las Vegas location out in the southwestern wilderness makes it natural destination for caravans and pilgrimages from California through Texas. In keeping with the, tradition, the Mustang Club of America organized their Pony Drives, allowing Mustang owners to travel in a group.
The trackside location offered a generous infield for a marketplace and swap meet and sidetrack road course away from the Las Vegas Speedway’s main oval for those Mustangs still in raging working order and eager to test their abilities at speed. The prime magazines on display entered the grounds on parade for the photography pleasure of guests in attendance.
Classic Breeds Make the Trip
As with the equally massive event in North Carolina, classic and custom Mustangs from around North America found their way to Vegas. While there are seemingly endless auto shows and custom automative show cases across America, there was a sense of devoted history with the Mustang celebrations. If a car was on prominent display, it held some sort of genuine significance.
Related: 50th Anniversary Special Edition Mustang
One of the most fascinating exhibits was the actual concept car that would eventually evolve into the Mustang the world grew to love. Off the drawing board the futuristic and never produced concept car. Longer and more sleek than the car it would evolve into, it was a two seater. The car Ford did build for testing was a drivable sports car prototype with (shockingly) a tiny V-4 engine driving the rear wheels. The car was so light the little engine was sufficient, but (even in the 1960s) safety requirements meant the production car would’ve been much heavier.
Nearby, perhaps the ultimate Mustang model drew thick crowds. The 1965 Ford Mustang GT 350 is a car collector’s dream. Designed by racing legend Carroll Shelby, Ford experts consider this “the lightest and purest of the Shelby Mustangs. For the Las Vegas show, one of the first 200 models built was on display – looking like it just rolled off the line.
Check in tomorrow for Part Two of our Vegas Mustang birthday report.
