1980 Ford Mustang GT Enduro. Photos by Ryan Merrill, courtesy Auctions America.
In 1979, Ford introduced a new Mustang, built upon the Fox platform shared with other compact and midsize products. This reborn Mustang would usher in a new era of performance, and to make certain customers knew this, Ford built a series of show cars wearing race-style body kits. Three of these, launched ahead of the 1982 model year, carried something special beneath the hood as well: a 5.0-liter high-output V-8. In October, the second of these GT Enduro Mustangs heads to auction as part of the debut Auctions America Hilton Head sale.
Built to showcase the upcoming 5.0-liter V-8, the GT Enduro Mustangs were also meant to highlight Firestone’s newest performance tire, the HPR, and Ford’s newest performance group, Special Vehicle Operations. In addition to a McLaren body kit that featured dramatically flared fenders, a vented hood, a plus-size air dam and a vent-less grille, the concepts also came equipped with four-wheel disc brakes, three-piece forged BBS wheels, Koni shocks, lowered springs, an anti-roll bar, a limited slip differential with 3.73:1 gearing and a Ghia interior. Seats came from Recaro, while the gauges came from Stewart Warner.
Three such cars were built for promotional purposes, with two painted in red and one finished in dark blue. The GT Enduro Mustangs starred in the Firestone “Motorsports Caravan” that toured North America, and serial number 002, the blue car, made the cover of Autoweek in February of 1982. It also starred on a poster and post card that announced, “The Boss is Back,” a further reminder that the days of the fuel-sipping Mustang II (which, in fairness, proved to be a best-seller for Ford) were over.
The seller states that the 5.0-liter V-8 has been balanced and blueprinted, and built up with TRW forged pistons, strengthened connecting rods, roller rocker arms, a Crane camshaft and full-length headers that exhale through dual exhausts. Sending the power aft is the job of a Borg Warner five-speed manual transmission, fitted with a Ford SVO shifter. Though familiar to Mustang fans as a show car, it’s clear that 002 has been built to be driven hard.
In private hands since March of 1984, the Mustang has racked up just over 14,000 miles in its three-and-a-half decade life. Given its condition, rarity and role in Mustang history, Auctions America is predicting a selling price between $45,000 and $60,000 when the GT Enduro crosses the stage on Halloween.
For more information on the Hilton Head sale, visit Auctions America.com.
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