Screen 'Stangs: Five Of The Coolest Mustangs From Film And TV

If you’ve been following us on Facebook, you can’t have missed our sweepstakes. We just gave away a beautiful ’57 Chevy, but we’re not done. We’re soon to be giving away a 1965 Ford Mustang GT350 that’s been restomodded to our own very high standards. Check out the video below for a teaser of the car: it really is a beautiful machine, and it could be yours!

https://www.facebook.com/RestoModsMedia/videos/1987008818000061/

In honor of our next sweepstakes, I wanted to do a piece about some of the great and good Mustangs that have been stars of the screen over the years. As one of the most famous and popular American muscle cars, they’re not lacking in celebrity status, and some have become legendary. These are just a handful of these automotive sensations. Before we begin, I just wanted to say that despite their fame, we’re not going to talk about the Bullitt Mustang or Gone in 60 Seconds‘ Eleanor. While they definitely belong here, we’ve talked about them pretty recently, and wanted to give some other ‘stangs screentime.

Diamonds Are Forever: Mustang Mach 1

James Bond may be more well known for his fondness for Aston Martins, but he’s driven a number of cool cars over the years, as well as a Ford Mondeo for unknowable reasons (read, a large amount of cash) in Casino Royale. Diamonds Are Forever, released in 1971, is a fantastically silly instalment of the franchise, with Bond tasked with stopping Blofeld from creating a space-based laser weapon. While many will remember the scene where a moon buggy is utilized in an unlikely escape, the Mustang Mach 1 is used in the film’s coolest chase sequence. Just ignore the fact that the car begins its two-wheel stunt on its left side and ends it on its right.

The scene was shot over three nights on Las Vegas’ Fremont Street, with the stunt’s first shot filmed at Universal Studios and the second shot in Vegas. The stunt where the Mustang jumps over a number of cars was performed by Bill Hickman, famed for his stunt work in Bullitt, who did it in just one take. That’s a damn good job too, the crew only had one Mach 1 left, the other two already wrecked by another stuntman’s failed attempts.

The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift — 1967 Mustang Fastback

The third installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, Tokyo Drift is my personal favorite from the bonkers series. It was the first one of the movies that shifted to a radically different setting and shone a light on the art of drifting. Despite it not being a drifter, the Mustang in the movie manages to beat the expert racer Takashi using it. It may be a ’67, but it was actually made from a pair of ’68s. It also doesn’t feature any of the V8s you’d expect to find in a muscle car. Instead, it features a 2.6 liter twin-turbo straight six as found in a Nissan Silvia S15.

The engine was outfitted with an Earl’s Performance braided line and hooked up to a BeCool radiator. B-pillar scoops were added, and the suspension was upgraded with Global West control arms and KYB rear shocks. Wilwood disc brakes were attached to the JDM wheels. Miraculously, all but one of the six Mustangs survived filming and were sold, with prices ranging from $14-22K.

Drive: 2011 GT

It may not be a classic Mustang, but it definitely deserves a place on this list. Drive is a movie that manages to create an atmosphere like no other: from its soundtrack to its growing sense of tension, and, of course, the cars. The Driver, as portrayed by Ryan Gosling, is a preternaturally amazing, erm, driver, whose ability to pull off insane stuff in cars is more or less a superpower. This car in question is a 2011 GT, and while it’s not all that visually impressive, its incognito nature is required for the scene.

After things go all sideways in a botched robbery, The Driver needs to make a rapid escape while being pursued by an unknown adversary. Being The Driver, he pulls it off. The chase is one of my favorites from recent years, calling to mind the great chase movies of the ’70s. A modern take on an old story, both the movie and the car ooze an effortless cool.

John Wick: 1969 Mustang Fastback

Ah, John Wick. This movie is one of my favorites of recent years, for one simple reason: its ridiculous coolness. Starring Keanu Reeves as a retired hitman with a brutal reputation who gets back into the game to hunt down a crew of mobsters who stole his car and killed his dog, it has it all. The firefights are vicious, the world it creates fantastically deep, and it also pays a good amount of attention to its cars. One car that gets a lot of screen time in particular is Mr. Wick’s Mustang, which also features in the sequel. A ’69 Fastback that attracts a lot of attention from all the wrong sort of people, the car is the vehicular equivalent of the titular character: brutal, efficient, and unmistakably badass.

The car is portrayed in the movie as being a Boss 429, but there are a couple of giveaways that it isn’t. The car features a smaller hood scoop than the Boss 429’s, and also features a small rear spoiler and chin splitter. The engine that was under the hood is unknown, and all of the cars that were used in the film have since been destroyed. Whatever its true spec was, there’s no denying it’s a hell of a car. Featuring hood pins, Magnum 500s and a daunting paint scheme, it’s probably the only car fit for John Wick.

Charlie’s Angels: 1976 Ford Mustang Cobra II

This car was something of a trendsetter. The vehicle of choice for Farrah Fawcett in the campy show, it became just as iconic as her. The use of blue racing stripes emphasized the Mustang’s speed and power, and remains a classic look to this day. The car was supplied to the studio by Ford, featuring a blue interior that complemented the exterior.

It is thought that two cars were used, with a ’77 also used in the series later on. The cars’ ultimate fates are still unknown, but it is thought that they were returned to Ford before finding new owners. Rumors abound on blogs and forums that the original car was bought by a Ford worker from his boss in 1979. Regardless of where they ended up, the cars were just as beautiful as the show’s cast and demand a place on this list.