Shot in the red rocks of Flagstaff, Arizona, this bespoke Ford Mustang can also handle Autocross duty.
Since its humble beginnings in 1963, the Speed Equipment Manufacturing Association — otherwise known as SEMA — allows the best and brightest in the automotive industry to display their creative talent when it comes to advertising their latest products.
The show moved to Las Vegas in 1977; since then, car companies often arrive in the southwest with their newest bespoke, one-off car builds promoting their current line of merchandise.
So when Arizona natives, Cassar Performance and Design, received the opportunity to present their Ford Mustang build, the little-known GM and Ford tuners managed to steal the show with their bright white comet of a Ford Mustang.
Similar to the beginnings of the SEMA show, the Cassar brothers began their ascent in the automotive industry as mechanics as early as the 1900s, according to their Facebook.
After experiencing a revival in the current generation, the Cassar family now carries on the family legacy as one of the premier builders of current and classic Ford cars.
So when industry titan, Royal Purple Synthetic Oil approached Cassar Performance, the two collaborated to build a bespoke version of a 2021 Ford Mustang GT California Special that doubles as an autocross beast, and a daily driver.
Based on your typical Ford Mustang GT, the California special debuted in 1968 to critical acclaim and experienced a revival in the mid-2010s before once again discontinuing in 2017.
So, when the classic Ford tuners in Cassar got the chance to build a car for SEMA, they knew the original 1968 California Special would serve as their inspiration for their newest build.
When asked to explain the process of their build, Kevin Cassar had this to say: "I envisioned how I could create a modern Mustang that would pay homage to what the original 1968 Mustang GT California Special meant and how it truly represented what the Mustang stood for in the original pony car era, which was fast, fun, freedom, and performance without compromise."
Wanting to create a modern interpretation of the original that could handle itself on the track, Royal Purple and Cassar Performance wanted to build a car that Ford — and Carroll Shelby, moreover — would be proud to say is a part of the Mustang heritage.
Achieving all that and then some, we have to imagine Cassar Performance will no longer be the underground car builder they were once known as before SEMA.
Jacob is a writer and gearhead splitting time between Southern California and Phoenix, Arizona. When he’s not wrenching on his and his wife’s questionable fleet of cars; he’s learning DIY repair, researching car culture and history, or casually browsing used cars. Jacob cut his teeth writing for the now defunct, Oppositelock, before the website was blown up.
