In February 1968, Ford introduced a new option package for Mustang coupes for the high-demand California market. Drawing inspiration from “Little Red,” a prototype designed to explore the possibility of a notchback Shelby coupe, the Mustang GT/California Special combined Shelby-style body elements with features unique to the GT/CS.
These included a blacked-out front grille with fog lights, quarter-turn hood locks, non-functional fiberglass body-side scoops, fiberglass quarter-panel, and trunk-lid extensions, a pop-off gas cap, non-sequential Thunderbird tail lights, distinctive body-side striping, and a chrome “California Special” quarter-panel script.
Ford also included styled steel wheels and wider tires from the Mustang GT package. The GT/CS was available with any drivetrain combination and optional features offered in the Mustang lineup. Initially planned for a production run of 5,000 units, only 4,118 GT/CS models were ultimately built over approximately five and a half months in 1968.
The folks from TFLclassics shared a video on YouTube exploring a 1968 Mustang GT/CS. In it, they discuss some important details about this classic muscle car and what makes it unique.
