In the early 1980’s Peter Muscat had an idea to turn the Mustang into a convertible. Ford was already planning to do that for the ’83 model year, but not with the Mustang’s sister car the Mercury Capri. So Muscat teamed up with the American Sunroof Company and famous car builder, and race team McLaren.

The result were the ASC McLaren Capris, which were available as a convertible, hatchback, and even more rare a coupe. The cars were available with upgraded springs and shocks, 15-inch wheels with Goodyear Gatorback tires, a custom built console, and in the case of a convertible a custom built top, that made the car a two-seater. Some later Capri models also came with a Ford Racing B303 camshaft. WIth the death of the Capri in 1986, Ford encouraged the package on the Mustang, although they only allowed it to be built as a convertible, so the coupe and hatchback wouldn’t compete directly against the Mustang GT.

Perhaps the biggest downfall of the ASC McLaren Mustangs though was their price tag. In 1984 the cars cost over $20,000, at a time when median US income was about $19,000. Add to that a loaded GT was less than half that amount, the McLaren had a manual top, where the GT had a power top, and the GT had two rear seats. For the average enthusiast the ASC McLaren was just too far out of reach, and it was hard to sell a customer on this kind of luxury during the down economy of the 1980’s. The boom year for the cars was 1988 with just over 1,000 sold.

That brings us to this car, a 1989 ASC McLaren Mustang convertible, one of just 247 of these cars produced that year. This survivor is currently available on eBay and is an excellent example of a surviving ASC McLaren with just 86,000 miles on the odometer. This particular car is number 26, and comes with a clean CarFax, as well as being loaded with options. The current owner has had the car in their possession for 23 years, and says it’s in good condition.

These care are becoming increasingly rare, and are another page in Fox-body history that we rarely see opened. If you always wanted one, now is your chance to buy. If you’re interested in more about the history of the ASC McLaren Mustang you can also check out the ASC McLaren Mustang registry.