The Ford Mustang was sorta born in 1964. So it kinda celebrates its 60th birthday in 2024. Ford will mark the occasion by bringing back a classic name from the early days of pony car culture, the Mustang California Special.
What’s all this “kinda sorta” about? Ford introduced the Mustang in 1964 as a 1965 model year car. But it started production five months before the typical model year rollover. Those earliest cars received VINs coded to 1965. But Ford built them so early in 1964 that collectors give them a half-year nickname. If you want to drive yourself insane and part with a lot of money, you search out a “1964 1/2 Mustang.”
Ford is calling 2024 the Mustang’s 59th year. They intend to celebrate its 60th in 2025. But we’ll be disappointed if they don’t start five months early with a wink.
The original California Special was created by California dealers, who asked Ford for their breakout model to mark the fact that about a fifth of early Mustang sales happened in just one state. Dealers applied stripes unavailable on other models and a package of upgrades you could put together in other states, but only by paying separately for each.
Blue Accents Everywhere
The stripes are back on the 2024 Mustang GT California Special, low on the doors. The “GT/CS” logo that marked the original hides within them in a sharp medium blue Ford calls “Rave Blue.” The same color lines the air intakes wide to the sides of the grille and outlines the GT badges.
The package adds $1,995 to the Mustang’s price.
Two 19-inch wheel packages are available, one in Carbonized Gray and one with Rave Blue pockets. That second option, however, comes only with the $4,995 GT Performance Package.
Inside, perforated navy and black leather upholstery gets contrast-color stitching in two hues – metal gray and blue.
The car has no performance upgrades, but that holds with tradition – the original Cali Special was made from visual options dealers could order. Shoppers can order this one on the coupe or convertible, with the 6-speed manual transmission or the 10-speed automatic.
