The Special edition Mustang

Special – edition Mustang was offered to dealers in late 1969 in the Kansas City area. The cars were known as the ‘’Twister Special’’ based on 1970 Mach 1. Along with the custom ‘’Twister Special’’ graphics, highlights include the Grabber Orange interior paint. For the Total Performance Day at the Kansas City, The Mustang Twister Special cars debuted, on November 7,1969 Mo district sales office.

A very interesting beginning has had the Twister Special. American Raceways, Inc. (ARI) has contacted the Ford Motor Corporation in the late of 1969 production year regarding the production of pace cars for their organization in the race tracks. For designing a unique 1970 Mach 1 Mustang Ford eagerly obliged. To match ARI’s various race tracks, each car’s detailing was color coordinated. The cars were never delivered because the ARI went bankrupt.

A special project was underway in Kansas City Missouri, fortunately for Ford. About producing a flashy, highly performance, promoting car for their ‘’Total Performance Day” people at the district sales office approached Ford which was held on Friday, November 7, 1969. To market the vehicles originally manufactured for Ari, Ford now had the opportunity. To Kansas City Ford has shipped 96 Mach 1 Mustangs and 90 Torino Cobras. To remove the Ari logos and replace them with the Mach 1 Logo, Ford script and the logo of the Twister Special they contracted with a detailing firm.

Ford Mustang storming event

The assembly of Kansas City district dealers converged on the morning of November 7^th. Promoting Ford’s high performance cars and parts were given seminars and performances. When the dealers were treated to a display commemoration the event, the highlight of the day came – 90 vermillion Torino Cobras, and 96 Grabber Orange Mach 1s – The Twister Special.

96 Twister Specials were built in all. A promotional Mustang made exclusively for the Ford Kansas City Sales District dealers were specially ordered and consecutively numbered Mach 1’s. An area including Kansas, Missouri and the corner Northwest of Arkansas have been covered.  

A separated project were the 1970 Twisters utilizing the design of the American Raceway Incorporated (ARI) pace cars. As stated in some magazine articles and websites, none of the pace cars were ever converted to Twister Special’s.