28th Annual Show Celebrated Blue Oval Machines In The Sunshine State

While the weather might not be show-friendly in other parts of the country, the sun shone brightly on Central Florida after a brief cold snap. Rain blew through the area and cleared up just in time to welcome a wide range of Blue Oval machinery to the Lakeside Village in Lakeland, Florida, for the 28th Annual Mustangs & Mustangs show.

For the last few years, this shopping and dining area has served as a great host for a show that was once closely associated with local airfields that allowed pony cars to pose with their namesake aircraft, the P-51 Mustang. Eventually, those locations didn’t work out, and the show shifted to a spot that really welcomes fans and their families for a day of automotive fun.

The show is hosted by the Imperial Mustangs of Polk County with sponsorship support from Lakeland Ford, Pointe Grand Communities, National Parts Depot, Central Florida’s Polk County Sports Marketing, Nitpickin Mobile Detailing, and Gaskins  Barbeque & Lobster. This year’s installment saw vehicles from all over the Sunshine State in attendance. The team from the Ford Special Vehicle Registry even made the trip down from Ford’s home base in Michigan to sign up enthusiasts and their vehicles.

As in previous years, the show, which is open to all Fords, operates on a Modified Judged format, where pre-registered cars 2024 and older were judged by the club. Meanwhile, 2025-and-newer cars, as well as those registered on the day of the show, were eligible for a popular-vote award. The club also used the event as a canned food drive in support of a local charity, Volunteers In Service To The Elderly.

We weren’t there to judge in any formal way, however. Rather, it was just a great day to check out all the cars on the scene and share 10 that grabbed our attention. To see more than the highlighted selections, check out the full gallery below.

10. 2025 Mustang GT

From the classics to the latest pony cars, this show offered a nice variety of Mustangs and other Fords to check out. It was cool to see a rare example of the latest stallion in the form of this Brittany Blue 2025 60th Anniversary Ford Mustang GT. Number 49 out of 1,965 examples constructed, this one is still nearly factory fresh, only benefiting from window tint and paint protection film. 

9. 1970 Mach 1

Tanya and Gary Schick made the drive over from Palm Bay, Florida, to show off their 1970 Mustang Mach 1. Decked out in Bright Blue Metallic, this Mach 1 is no concours stocker. It sports a healthy suite of performance upgrades under the hood. Its 289 engine wears a four-barrel carb, an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, and ported-and-polished 302 heads. An MSD ignition lights the fire, and a Champion aluminum radiator keeps engine temps in check. The stout small-block exhales through Flowmaster mufflers and transmits power through a built C-4 automatic transmission to a 9-inch rear fitted with 3.71 gears. Sounds like a fun ride to cruise out to a Saturday show.

8. 2000 Saleen Convertible

Over the years, Saleen created some really beautiful Mustangs. They were icons of the Fox era, but the SN-95 and New Edge examples are arguably among the best-looking pony cars of that era. A case in point is Steve Gordon’s 2000 Saleen Mustang. He says it’s a one-of-one build configuration that is number 127 out of only 203 droptops built for that model year at Saleen’s Irvine, California, facility. Sporting a supercharger and a five-speed manual transmission, this convertible is a true time capsule with only 3,500 miles on the clock.

7. 1986 Mercury Capri

This one might not be a Mustang, but the Mustangs & Mustangs show welcomes all Blue Oval machines. Besides, this 1986 Mercury Capri shares quite a bit of DNA with the Mustangs of that era, right down to the Fox platform it is based on. Owned by Rich Burns, this beauty is sprayed in Sonic Blue, made famous as a factory Terminator paint option. His ride rolls on Saleen-style five-spoke wheels and is motivated by a fuel-injected 5.0-liter V8 wearing a coveted tubular GT-40 intake, which inhales boost from a Vortech supercharger. This is a period-correct combo if there ever was one, and we loved it.

6. 1965 Mustang Fastback

When they are clean, it is hard to beat the look of a black Mustang, especially when it is a clean 1965 Mustang Fastback. Owned by John Tivnan, this classic pony car is powered by a carbureted, pushrod small-block fitted with a Fox-era serpentine FEAD and accessories. Riding on period-correct Torq Thrust wheels wrapped in BFG rubber, this pony car is a head-turner even when it is standing still.

5. 2013 Boss 302

Your scribe still hands fond memories of wheeling the S197-era Boss 302 around the daunting Laguna Seca road course in Salinas, California. Powered by the first performance-optimized version of the Coyote engine platform known as the RoadRunner, this factory corner carver served as a proper send-off for the solid rear axles in the Mustang before the S550 hit the world stage with IRS. Tyler Kuilan brought his Race Red 2013 example out to the show, and it looked like it had just rolled off the dealer lot, bringing your scribe right back to turning the Track Key and letting the RoadRunner rip through The Corkscrew.

4. 2025 Dark Horse

As a card-carrying fan of the Wild Strawberry Metallic/Electric Currant Red paints offered in the Fox era, this author has a soft spot for the modern Molten Magenta. It looks especially sharp sprayed on this 2025 Mustang Dark Horse owned by Richard Hermes. He must have really wanted this spec, as he bought the car in Dallas, Texas, and had it shipped to his Florida home. The nicely optioned example is still stock, but the Dark Horse is a capable performer as delivered.

3. 1992 Mustang LX

While Coyote swaps and six-figure restomods abound in the world of Fox Mustangs, there is an underlying movement toward appreciating the period-correct mods that the movement was founded on in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Eric Demeri’s Reef Blue 1992 Mustang LX brings us right back to that era thanks to a clean presentation and a nearly stock-appearing, pushrod 5.0-liter engine underhood. Still riding on 10-holes and breathing deep through a Holley SysteMax II intake, this Fox is a nostalgic notch.

2. 2010 Shelby GT500

What could be considered one of the last runs of pure muscle cars in the Mustang lineage were the Shelby GT500s of the S197 era. Still sporting solid rear axles that received thick slabs of torque from supercharged Modular engines, these rides will push you back in your seat and put a smile on your face. Debbie and Pat Wilson’s 2010 example is tuned up with bolt-ons, lifting the output to 680 ponies and appearance upgrades that set it apart from the crowd. With striking Kona Blue paint accented by glistening wheels, this one makes you want to stand on the gas to hear that blower whine and the roar through its custom exhaust.

1. 1993 Mustang LX

If this author is at a car show, you can be sure the Fox Mustangs will garner some significant attention. This 1993 Mustang LX coupe, owned by Nick Solimini, definitely deserved further investigation. Not only is it a clean coupe, but it is powered by a 363-cube engine based on a Boss block and filled with a SCAT forged crankshaft, SCAT rods, MAHLE forged pistons, and a COMP XE camshaft. It is topped by AFR 205cc aluminum heads and an Edelbrock Victor EFI intake manifold. A Holley Terminator X EFI system makes all the hardware work together, and a TREMEC TKO five-speed manual transmission lets Solimini row his own gears and have a blast doing it. This one is sharp inside and out, and it made this scribe want a coupe again.