Ford teases British fighter plane-themed Mustang ahead of charity auction
Ford is honouring the American pilots who served with the U.K. Royal Air Force’s Eagle squadrons during the Second World War with a special-edition one-off Mustang, the sale of which will benefit young aviators.
The Eagle Squadron Mustang GT was co-created by Ford Performance and Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s RTR Vehicles, and was teased with an aerial photo mid-June. It will debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the U.K. on July 12 before being auctioned off at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The fastback Mustang wears a camouflage paint job and an RTR carbon-fibre wide-body kit, and it has a 700-horsepower 5.0-litre V8. The paint scheme is reminiscent of the three Eagle squadrons the RAF flew over the fields of Goodwood, as well as on the British and French coasts, during the war. The squadrons were partially staffed by American volunteer pilots.
The car’s sale will benefit the EAA’s Young Eagles program for young aviators and the winning bidder gets to pick up the car at the 2018 Ford Woodward Dream Cruise, to which they’ll also get VIP tickets.
Ford has sponsored the EAA AirVenture for 20 years as of 2018, and has built 11 custom one-off vehicles to sell to raise money for the Young Eagles. The charity auctions have raised $3 million so far.
The automaker may show off a little more of the Mustang ahead of its Goodwood debut, where Gittin Jr. will take the wheel of the car. Driving will take a closer look at the Eagle Squadron Mustang as part of our EAA AirVenture coverage in late July.