1989 Ford ASC McLaren Speedster
Engineer Paul Muscat commissioned American Specialty Cars (ASC, formerly American Sunroof Corp) to undertake the conversions, and they partnered with McLaren, who was already doing suspension mods to the Mustang. Fast forward to 1987, the year in which ASC McLaren went full Mustang. It benefited not only from custom bodywork and bespoke ragtop, but also from a slew of improvements Ford gave the pony car line that year.
This 56,000 mile Mustang still looks pretty fresh, the white paint demonstrating no obvious flaws and all of the bespoke ASC McLaren bits remaining intact. From a distance it resembles your standard GT, however up close you will notice the subtle changes. The windshield rake is more aggressive and surround is body color as opposed to black. The front grill plate sports an offset embossed ASC McLaren rather than the centered chrome pony, and the taillights also differ from the louvered lights of the stock GT.
The major change was the replacement of the back seat with a hard tonneau'd well for the convertible mechanism at the top. That top sports three plastic windows unlike the factory Mustang. The top is far better integrated than Ford's factory option, and elimintates the back seats and in their place are a pair of footwell-located storage bins one-upping the factory GT which limits you to the trunk or puny glovebox for covered storage. And for two, there's plent of space as both driver and passenger get premium styled leather-covered sport seats.
Ford's evergreen 5.0 HO V8 302 received a larger throttle body, as well as E7TE heads from the F-series trucks, and the TRW forged pistons. All those changes were good for 225-bhp and 300 lb-ft of torque, which should give this McLaren a serious go to match its show.
This ASC McLaren Mustang presents the heritage of this blend of engineering imagination with an iconic pony car and McLaren technology. It is in excellent condition, with a beautiful white exterior highlighted by dark blue leather interior and matching convertible top. Own a unique part of Ford/McLaren history at a value price which is on the rise.
