Apple pie, stars and stripes, and the hallowed bald eagle be damned, there is a new quintessential symbol for America in town: Ford’s one-off Mustang Apollo Edition. Try not to look directly at it, you might sprout a southern accent.
Based on the 2015 Ford Mustang GT, which will soon find its way to New Zealand’s shores, the Apollo Edition generates 627hp and 540ft·lb of torque from its five-litre V8, thanks to the addition of a supercharger. It also includes LED underbody mood lighting, carbon-fibre parts on its exterior, and some drop-dead gorgeous glossy and matt paint and decal effects that unquestionably hark back to NASA’s fleet of rockets.
Apart from potential queries of taste, the Apollo Edition does serve a purpose. It will be auctioned off to the highest bidder at the annual 2015 Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture Oshkosh fly-in air show on July 20–26. Proceeds are set to benefit a variety of youth groups associated with the EAA, helping them to expand their youth education programmes. Have a look at this video for a very brief rundown on the Apollo Edition:
Is it over the top? Of course it is. But in order to pay tribute to a group like NASA or the EAA, you can’t approach a homage like this with nuance and poise. You must grab it with both hands, scrawl ‘USA’ on it in big, bold, red letters, and give every second interior surface red highlights. Ford and their lead designer Melvin Betancourt have been emphatic in following through, and the result is easily one of the more memorable one-off pieces that any American marque has produced. Kudos.
While the special edition has yet to hit a drag strip or have its times officially tested, speculation suggests that in a straight line, it’s a rocket ship.
