The Original

The Ford Mustang was one of the most well received models to ever hit the US streets, and although it started simple with only a few basic trimlines, Ford Motor Company began adding various trimlines over the next few years based on the Mustang’s success.  The first few added trimlines were supplied by Carroll Shelby, but Ford was quick to begin adding their own option models like the Mustang GT in 1965.  1966 marked the first time that Ford decided to offer a regional trimline, with the High Country Special (HCS), which was offered only by Denver area dealerships, and in 1968, the California Special (GT/CS) was added.  The Mustang kept getting more and more popular and in 1970, the model saw yet another regional offering, in the form of the Twister Special.

While the GT/CS saw approximately 4100 units and the High Country Special saw around 1000 units, the Twister was far rarer, with only 96 units offered for the 1970 model year.  These Twister Mustangs were offered only at a few Kansas City dealerships, and were based on the Mach 1, which effectively replaced the GT trimline.  However, where the GT/CS and HCS were primarily cosmetic trimlines, modeled after the popular Shelby models, the Twister was intended to be more of a performance trimline.  Originally intending to build 100 Twisters, the order was put out for the cars that would become the Twister Mustangs.  They were all Grabber Orange Mach 1’s powered by shaker hood scoop fed 428 Super Cobra Jet (428SCJ) engines; with half of them to be backed by a C6 automatic transmission and 3.91 rear differential gearing, and the other half equipped with a 4-speed manual transmission and 4.30 gears.  The other performance options ordered on every one of the Twister units were Ford’s drag pack, competition suspension, power front disc brakes, and Goodyear Polyglas F70x14 tires.  The finishing touches to the Twister included a unique side stripe, ending at the quarter panel with the famed Twister emblem.

Every Twister Mustang was to be built exactly the same, but a shortage of 428SCJ engines changed that plan.  When the cars to be used for the Twisters were ordered, Ford was only able to come up with 48 428SCJ engine blocks, so 48 cars were made with the available engines, and an equal 48 cars were produced with the slightly less powerful 351 4V engine, so only 96 of the 100 were made in October of 1969.  The Twister Mustang met the public on November 7, 1969, at Kansas City International Raceway, and along with a handful of Ford-backed performance experts, the various dealerships were given their share of the Twister stock.

The Fox Body

Just over 15 years after the original Twister Mustangs were ordered; Ford Motor Company issued the October 31, 1984 memo announcing a luncheon in Springfield, Missouri, that would introduce the 1985 Twister Mustang.  There would be some shift from the performance minded build of the original Twister; as this anniversary edition Twister was intended to commemorate the original; not outperform it.  The most powerful engine offered was the 302 cubic inch high output engine, offering 210 horsepower, but a less powerful 302 cubic inch fuel injected engine making 165 horsepower was also offered.  83 of the 90 units produced for 1985 came with the High Output engine option; the remaining 7 with the fuel injected engine and all of them coming equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission.  The ‘85 Twister was offered as both a hardtop and a convertible, with three different roofline options offered with the hardtop.  Hardtops were offered with a plain roofline, a T-top with removable glass inserts, or with a pop-up glass sunroof.  Unlike the 1970 Twister, the 1985 model had color options, and surprisingly, Grabber Orange was not one of them.  74 were ordered in Bright Red; with 14 White, 1 Medium Canyon Red, and 1 Silver model making up the rest of the 90 total Twisters made.  The most similar option between the original Twister and the 1985 offering was the exterior styling.  Although the colors differed, the Fox Body Twister carried a thick black stripe, this time sporting the TWISTER II name rather than the Mach 1 denotation.  The “Twister II” also wore the original tornado Twister logo, and the 15^th Anniversary edition Twister quickly sold out all of the 77 hardtops and 13 convertibles.

The Retro Mustang Brings Back the Twister

The 2005 Ford Mustang was one of the most sought after new cars in US history, and next to the original release of the Mustang in 1964, the 2005 model was one of the most anticipated debuts of all time.  The modernized take on classic styling catered to Mustang enthusiasts of all ages, and the retro Mustang also leant itself to the rebirth of many classic Mustang trimlines.  The first and most popular return was that of the Shelby GT500, followed by the Bullitt and rumors of more upcoming trimlines, and those rumors included the return of the Twister.  This new Twister, however, would be backed but not built by Ford Motor Company.  The 2008 Twister Mustang is built by R&A Motorsports of Lees Summit, Missouri, and like the original, there will be just 96 units produced, but unlike the 1970 or 1985 models, there are many options for this new Twister. 

The first choice by a new Twister owner is to pick between a coupe or a convertible, but the coupe is no regular coupe, as it comes equipped with a Glassback see-through roofline and rear quarter window louvers. The coupe owners get some special features, so it’s only fair that the convertible owners also get a unique touch, which is accomplished by the addition of the black styling bar, which also wears the Twister Special logo.  There is also a wide variety of interior and exterior additions which make this new Twister unique from other 2008 Mustang GTs.  Those items included in all of the 2008 Twister Mustangs are:

• Twister Special Graphics Package
  
• Foose 20x8.5” Wheels with “Twister Special” Center Caps
  
• Pirelli Tires
  
• Blacked Out Ground Effects
  
• Chin Spoiler
  
• Shaker Hood with Engraved Twister Special Logo
  
• Centered Driving Lights With The Vintage Tri-Bar Pony Logo
  
• Tail Light Panel
  
• Sequential Tail Lights
  
• Embroidered Twister Special Floor Mats
  
• Embroidered Twister Special Headrests
  
• Ford Racing Exhaust

Those who begin with a manual transmission can opt to add a set of racing pedals for $99, and a Hurst shifter for $469.95, and automatic owners can purchase a set of racing pedals for $79.

The real list of options comes when deciding how power the buyer wants to get out of his or her new Twister Mustang.  The performance packages offered by R&A Motorsports have been named after the Enhanced Fujita scale, which is the scale used by meteorologists to rate the strength of a tornado. 

• The base Twister/EF-1 - Comes with all of the standard features mentioned above, and offers the driver 315 horsepower.  Price: $12,995 for the coupe, $11,000 for the convertible

• EF-2 – This package includes all of EF-1, and adds higher ratio differential gears (3.73:1 for manual transmission models, 4.10:1 for automatics), a larger throttle body, and a PCM tune that helps the engine make optimal performance.  Also included is a push to start button.   This package yields roughly 325 horsepower. Price: $2195 added to the EF-1 price

• EF-3 – This package begins with everything included in EF-1 and EF-2, and improves the engine performance by adding a set of exhaust headers and high flow catalytic converters.  This package then focuses attention on the handling of the car; adding improved front and rear sway bars, stiffer springs, shocks and struts, allowing the car to handle a great deal better.  This package will yield roughly 345 horsepower.  Price: $5795 added to the EF-1 and EF-2 prices

• EF-4 – This package starts with everything included in EF-1, EF-2, and EF-3, and includes the first big jump in horsepower by adding a Paxton supercharger.  This increases the power to over 450 hp, and to help put more power to the wheels, EF-4 includes a lightweight aluminum driveshaft and driveshaft safety loop.  Price: $14,795 added to the EF-1, EF-2, and EF-3 price

• EF-5 – This is a grand daddy of all the Twister Mustang Specials, and will give the original a run for its money.  This is done by including everything listed above, but the 4.6L engine is removed in favor of a 5.4L supercharged engine and 6-speed manual transmission, similar to that found in the new GT500.  This setup will allow the 2008 Twister EF-5 to pack over 500 horsepower, and to add some safety to this beast, it comes with a full roll cage.  There will be only two EF-5s built, and the estimate price is $100,000

 There will be a total of 100 units produced, with only 96 available to the general public with the above listed options, excluding EF-5.  Two EF-5 models will be built, and the final 2 cars included in that 100 are prototypes.  Every one of the 2008 Twisters will be offered only in Grabber Orange, and combined with the exterior alterations included in the various packages, the 2008 Twister will surely end up being yet another legendary chapter in the Ford Mustang history.