In 1970, a company called American Raceways Inc. ordered about 10 R-code 1970 Ford Mustang Pace Cars to use for promotional purposes at Kansas City Raceway, however the project was subsidized by the Ford Special Promotion Division, who presold 100 similarly equipped cars to the Kansas City District Sales Office to fund it.
Those cars are known as the ‘Twister’ special editions. All Twister examples were painted Grabber Orange with Mustang Mach 1 side stripes and Twister decals. They were intended to be completely performance oriented, with the only options being tinted glass, hubcaps, trim rings and an AM radio. They also packed R-code 428 Super CobraJet engines with a 4-speed transmission and a 3.91:1 Traction-Lok differential, save for two which were built with the 351 Cleveland motor.
This particular car, set to be sold off by Mecum at their upcoming Kansas City auction, is the 30th Twister built. The current owner bought the car because it was an R-code Mach 1 with a manual transmission, only to realize later he had acquired one of the illusive Twister special editions. The car has since gone under an all-encompassing restoration, which was completed in 2014, and has won numerous accolades including Street Stock Gold and Platinum awards at the 2014 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals.
Mustang diehards will drool at some of this car’s specs. It has the final year of the 428 Super CobraJet engine, which is numbers-matching, and the Drag Pack external oiler cooler and Hurst T-handle shifter. According to Mecum, the listing “presents an opportunity for Mustang collectors that hasn’t been paralleled for decades.”
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