As part of the series Jay Leno’s Garage, the long-time comedian and automotive enthusiast has featured many cool and unique Blue Oval models, many of which he has also had the privilege of driving as well. That list includes a 1994 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra pace car replica owned by fellow comedian Gabriel Iglesias, a 1986 Ford RS200 owned by another comedian, Tim Allen, and the then-new Ford Mustang Mach-E back in 2021, which Blue Oval CEO Jim Farley gave Leno a tour of. Now, Leno is back with something truly special – a 1964.5 Ford Mustang Indy Pace Car.
This isn’t just some sort of Ford Mustang Indy Pace Car replica, but rather, the actual machine that paced the iconic race just as the pony car made its official debut. Given just how special this car is, Leno invited FoMoCo Chairman Bill Ford on the show to discuss it and some other Ford-related matters. What’s particularly interesting is that Leno remembers watching this Mustang pace the Indy 500 when he was a mere teenager, while Bill Ford was also at the Indianapolis 500 with his father that same year – while his uncle was behind the wheel.
After AJ Foyt won the race, Ford gave him one of the three Mustang pace cars created for the Indy 500 as a gift – not this one – though he later wrecked that same machine. This particular example was number 241 produced overall, built on the first hour of the first day of Mustang production. Holman Moody modified it, however, with its most notable upgrade being the same V8 powerplant present in the GT40, though it had to be detuned as it was a bit too powerful for the Mustang’s chassis. It’s mated to an experimental Borg Warner transmission, along with Koni racing shocks and other tweaks.
Many of the other modifications present on this pony car came from Ford’s Falcon racing program, such as its underhood bracing. It’s a truly unique setup, but one that was required given the fact that this Ford Mustang had to be able to easily tool around the track at 140 miles-per-hour. Needless to say, this example was more than capable of doing that, which is why things had to be dialed back a touch to keep it under control, as Ford notes.
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Comments
very cool!
My favorite Ford is Edsel, Bill was not as known for promoting Racing, or being a Car Guy. This 15 minutes with Jay is touching, informative and great !!! To hear him tell of Nolan the Indy Car Racer that ran the Novi in the early 50s was a great story. Holman Moody making that car go 140 mph ! with a GT 40 power I never knew !!!
Bill should be spending his time trying to find another Alan Mulally. The Jim Farley experiment appears to be fading.
It’s always great to see Jay Leno in amongst another great piece of rolling stock, the guy breathes a sort of sophistication others can only hope to achieve.
Built in the first hour of the first day? Car number 241??? Since when did Ford EVER run an automobile assembly line fast enough to produce 241 cars in ONE HOUR ?????? Where do you get nonsense like this ?
That “nonsense” is a direct quote from Bill Ford himself, which you’d know if you had watched the video.
OMG, great story about Mustang….
I owned a (1964) 65 Mustang, purchased from Hertz Corp back in 1968, Married in 1969 and used it to travel from NYC to Cape Cod on our honeymoon!!!
Sold it as our first child was on the way!!