Nowadays, the Mustang name is a synonym for performance, so much so that Ford decided to include an electric crossover in the family. However, when the OG pony car made its 1964.5 debut, this was just as much of a lifestyle choice as it was a go-fast offering. Fortunately, the Blue Oval wasted no time in improving the dynamic abilities of the ‘Stang, with racing series such as the Trans Am and the IMSA GT facilitating the muscle-building of the Mustang—this rendering blurs the lines between the two series and their various eras.
Compare the exterior and interior dimensions of the 1967 Mustang, the first major revamp, to those of the previous models and you’ll notice a quirk. Despite the facelifted model being larger on the outside, none of the added inches translated to more room for passengers. And that’s because the raison d’etre of the ’67 refresh was to make room for Big Block muscle-this recent S550 project by Emelia Hartford gets it!
Now, returning to the said motorsport side of the first-gen Mustang’s life, this is where the pony did just fine without a Big Block. For one, when the Ford entered the 1966-created Trans Am Championship, it came with a 289 ci (4.7L) V8 sporting 271 hp, numbers that were also available on the street car.
The Mustang also entered the IMSA GT Championship that was born in 1971 and, with the rules of the two series partially overlapping, the freedom to evolve was taken even further.
And we can thank the IMSA GTO (that final “O” stands for cars with engines over 2.5 liters) for some overly impressive aerodynamic developments the Mustang received—while the first-gen pony would enter IMSA in its final post-1970 iterations, it wasn’t until the 1980s when the rules changed to allow tube-frame chassis under stock-appearing bodies that the Mustang became dominant (this was the Gen III Fox Body era of the Ford).
However, as mentioned above, this 3D work doesn’t care for such boundaries, gifting a 1967 Mustang—at least this is what the thing looks like—with the kind of aero that wouldn’t land in IMSA until decades later.
The 1967 IMSA Ford Mustang that never was
The vritual racecar parked on our screens is a notchback iteration of the first-gen Mustang (as opposed to the more popular fastback). And while you can still clearly recognize this as a classic ‘Stang, its 1980s/1990s airflow manipulation panels are mighty impressive.
Dom Host (aka altered_intent), the digital artist behind the project, could’ve simply mixed the 1960s lines of the base car with the IMSA GTO racing aero of the Fox Body and called it a widebody day. However, the artist, who also builds cars in real life, also introduced a livery for the Blue Oval beast—zoom in and you’ll be pleased no notice names like Roush adorning the body.
That side exhaust? It’s so brutish that you might expect it to come from The Batman’s Batmobile. And yet it may still not stand out as viciously as the rear wing, which some enthusiasts might find too extreme.
Speaking of which, we feel this rendering deserves an 8/10 as far as the RPM (real project in the making) potential is concerned, mostly thanks to the impressively stable appearance of the melange.
You see, as demonstrated by builds like this in-the-making 1965 Mustang with a modern Dodge Challenger front clip, which rides on a BMW platform, the limits can always be pushed in the world of car customization.
