Martini Mustang T5R

Wallpaper Description:

1966 Mustang Fastback

While classic Mustangs are mostly remembered for their quarter-mile and Trans-Am racing, it was actually European rally racing where they scored their first wins and turned heads. In its first year of production, Mustangs finished first and second in class in the 1964 Tour de France international rally. The effort tapered off after 1966, but what if Ford had decided to join forces with a European race team to continue with series rally competition? "What if" scenarios like that are something that Steve Strope of Pure Vision Design specializes in, and he let his imagination run wild on what the ultimate partner would be for Ford to seek out. Martini Racing technically didn't begin sponsoring cars until 1968, but Strope proposes that a chance to lay their iconic dark blue, light blue, and red stripes on the sensational new Mustang would have drawn them in earlier. Like all of Strope's cars, little cues to the heritage of both brands abound. Choosing a Shelby GT350R as his dream base car, we particularly like how Strope managed to masterfully morph GT350R cues such as the aluminum window frames in with more European style wheels and driving lights. Mustang cognoscenti will note that the scheme for the Martini stripes mimics GT350 side stripes and the single top stripe like that found on the '64 Mustang pace cars. And, of course, it's designated as a T5, like all exported Mustangs, since the name was copyrighted in Europe. The biggest shock is underhood: It's a Ford Indy quad-cam engine like those that powered Ford's racers at the Indianapolis Speedway from 1964 to 1977.