The popularity of the specialty and project Mustang at SEMA is a tried and true tradition. Here is a slideshow of what we saw, including the Ford Mustang and a Ford GT.

Many people passed by this 1934 Ford three window coupe at SEMA, paying more attention to the blinged out Mustangs and Foci packed around it - or perhaps they were too busy watching the boys from Galpin Auto building that classic green Mustang in the background.  In any case, I saw a great many people glance at this street rod and move on, as the unique modern drivetrain was so seamlessly installed that many might have assumed it to be a typical street rod packed with a V8.

However, a closer look at this pristine '34 Ford coupe tells a very different story.  With cooperation from Ford Motor Company and a handful of Michigan-based businesses, owner Kurt Kurtenbach has fitted a twin turbocharged direct injection 3.5L V6 from the Ford Taurus SHO into his beautiful street rod.

Starting in May 2009, Chip Foose, Magnaflow Performance Exhaust, and PowerBlockTV teamed up to created a one-of-a-kind 2010 Ford Mustang to be awarded by means of a random drawing.  The Foose Mustang featured a paint design by Chip Foose, and Mr. Foose was in the Magnaflow display this year at the SEMA Show to help show off the sweepstakes Mustang. 

The performance modifications begin with a Magnaflow Performance exhaust system and an Edelbrock supercharger system to increase the power to the wheels and a Baer big brake kit and Eibach suspension kit help the Foose Magnaflow Mustang handle as well as it accelerates.  A set of Foose wheels and high performance Pirelli tires add style and performance, and this custom 2010 Mustang stands out in a crowd even without an outlandish paint scheme or body kit.

It's pretty clear that Ford Motor Company is very proud of the 2010 refresh of the Ford Mustang - even though the Mustang has not yet received the "big motor news".  Since launching the 2010 Mustang at the LA Auto Show last year, Ford has been showing off their proud new baby like any good doting parent and the 2009 SEMA Show was virtually an alter to the fabled pony car.

 

This is nothing new, as the gigantic Ford display at SEMA is never without a nice spread of modified Mustangs, and models like the new Cobra Jet and the RTR-C Mustang fit the SEMA mold nicely.  However, this year featured the first for Ford as they debuted the first ever Ford Mustang stock car for NASCAR along with a pair of beautiful Shelby Mustangs being raffled off to help with veterans charities.  Also, Ford offered up a handful of production 2010 Mustangs showing off the latest and greatest 'aftermarket' additions available from Ford Racing.

 

Hurst Performance Vehicles has devoted a ton of time to the new Chevrolet Camaro, and last year they got lots of press coverage for their awesome Hurst Hemi Challengers.  Hurst has a long history of dealing with GMs and Mopars, but they are newer to the Ford world.  Last month, Hurst announced the Hurst Mustang Pace Car Series convertible and yesterday evening I received an email from Hurst's publc relations group with news of a new Hurst Mustang to be unveiled at the 2009 SEMA Show.  While details are limited (and no pictures exist right now) the new Performance Series Hurst Mustang sounds like it takes many of its performance cues from the Pace Car Series Mustang, but puts all of those performance upgrades in the skin of a race car rather than a pace car.

The new Performance Series Hurst Mustang being displayed at SEMA is painted bright white with black and gold Hurst graphics, sitting on 20" black chrome forged wheels wearing BF Goodrich KDW high performance tires.  Inside, the Hurst Mustang wears graphite Hurst/Katzkin leather seats with gold stitching and embroidered Hurst logos on the seats and floormats.  Like the other new Hurst models being displayed at the 2009 SEMA Show, the Hurst Mustangs will feature the Hurst Hard-Shift handle.