Ford Mustang GT 'Red Tails' Edition Inspired by WWII Fighter Planes
To benefit the EAA Young Eagles organization, Ford has designed and built a one of a kind ‘Red Tails’ edition Mustang GT, drawing inspiration from the Tuskegee airmen, a group of African American P-51 Mustang fighter pilots in WWII.
The EAA Young Eagles organization exists to help get young people flying, and has given 1.6 million introductory flights since 1992. Ford built this special edition specifically to go to auction at the EAA’s AirVenture Oshkosh 2012 event, a large aviation celebration.
Known as the red tails because of their red plane tails, the Tuskegee airmen were the first group of African-American fighter pilots in the second world war, and Ford is honoring them with the special edition Mustang. In honor of the P-51 Mustangs that the airmen flew, Ford secured VIN 00051 for the Mustang GT, and added some custom style in the form of polished aluminum nonproduction finish paint, custom plane graphics, embroidered ‘Red Tails’ seats and ‘Red Tails’ illuminated sill plates.
For plane like performance, Ford added a 2.3-liter twin-screw Whipple supercharger, handling pack, Brembo brakes, SVT performance exhaust, 20-inch wheels and a rear diffuser. This is the fourth special edition created by Ford to be auctioned off for the EAA Young Eagles.
“With this year’s beautiful ‘Red Tails’ edition Mustang, we’ve captured the recognizable symbols in honor of their important role in our history, and paired it with the innovation our Ford design and engineering teams build into all of our products,” said Edsel B. Ford II, board of directors member.
GALLERY: ‘Red Tails’ Mustang GT
Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
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