Ford Mustang GT/CS

Mustang GT/CS at a glance

Little Red and Lee Grey's idea

The California Special began with a Shelby prototype. At Ford's preview of the 1968 models at the Los Angeles Coliseum in August 1967, Southern California district sales manager Lee Grey saw "Little Red", a red Shelby GT500 notchback coupé. California accounted for about 20 per cent of Ford's Mustang and Thunderbird sales, and Grey proposed a Mustang for that market built on the look of the prototype.

Shelby Automotive designed the parts and the assembly procedures, and A.O. Smith in Ionia, Michigan, moulded the fibreglass pieces in steel moulds. The car was briefly called GT/SC before the name changed to GT/CS, and the marketing line was "California Made it Happen!". Little Red itself was long thought to have been crushed; it was found in Texas in early 2018. The Shelby side of the story is told in the Shelby GT500 hub and the history of Shelby.

What made a 1968 GT/CS

Every GT/CS was a hardtop coupé, built at the San Jose plant from parts shipped in by suppliers. The conversion included:

• a fibreglass boot lid with an integral spoiler and end caps, and fibreglass quarter extensions;
• a rear panel with 1965 Thunderbird tail lamps, described in Ford's brochure as a "Shelby-style rear end";
• simulated side scoops and side stripes with a "GT/CS" logo;
• a blacked-out grille with two rectangular Marchal or Lucas fog lamps and no running horse;
• twist-lock bonnet fasteners and a pop-open fuel filler cap.

The "GT" in the name had nothing to do with the GT Equipment Group. Some California Specials were ordered with that group as well, which is why a few cars carry both sets of equipment.

Engines: mostly the 289

Ford's brochure said the GT/CS was "priced like a Mustang", and buyers could choose any engine, gearbox, axle, option or colour from the regular list. Wikipedia notes that most were built with the 289 two-barrel and the C-4 automatic, while the 390 and the 428 Cobra Jet are the rarest and most prized.

Wikipedia notes that the 427 with the C-6 automatic was dropped for 1968, so it was never part of the California Special.

Production and the High Country Special

Production began on 17 February 1968, and the first dealer advertisement, for Coberly Ford in Los Angeles, appeared on 22 February. The heaviest production at San Jose fell between 15 and 20 March, and the last GT/CS was built on 30 July 1968. Ford had ordered 6,180 sets of parts and expected about 5,000 cars; Mustang Specs gives an agreed figure of 5,500 for San Jose, covering both specials.

The sources disagree on the total. Wikipedia counts 4,118 cars including 251 High Country Specials, sold through Denver dealers in June and July 1968 as "High Country Special '68". Mustang Specs lists 4,118 California Specials and 251 High Country Specials as separate figures. Cars were shipped well beyond California, to dealers as far as Texas, Missouri and Canada.

The modern GT/CS, 2007 to date

Ford revived the name in April 2006 for the 2007 Mustang GT, this time sold nationwide in coupé and convertible form. The package cost US$1,895 and added no power to the 224 kW (300 hp) 4.6-litre V8. It brought new front and rear fascias, 18-inch polished wheels, side scoops, "California Special" stripes and Dove or Parchment interior trim.

A 2010 version had 19-inch wheels, carbon-fibre interior trim and "GTCS" badges. The 2015 Mustang did not offer the package. The 2019 car, announced on 12 March 2018, had a blacked-out grille, a front splitter, stripes from the "5.0" badge to a rear wing scoop and suede seat trim, with the Performance Pack (67G) as an option. With the 2024 Mustang the California Special returned again, mainly as an appearance package on the V8 GT, now rated at 358 kW (480 hp) in the US. How the GT/CS fits into each body is covered in the Ford Mustang generations hub.

GT/CS today: what to check

A real 1968 GT/CS is a hardtop coupé built at San Jose between February and July 1968; a fastback or convertible with the same parts is a tribute. The fibreglass boot lid, quarter extensions and side scoops, the 1965 Thunderbird tail lamps and the fog lamps were reproduced for years, so documentation is the deciding proof, and the plant code in the VIN must point to San Jose. The engine letter in the VIN shows whether a car is one of the few 390 or 428 Cobra Jet examples. Modern GT/CS cars are factory packages on a Mustang GT; on 2019 cars the option code is 54C. The full model range is in the Ford Mustang catalogue.