Ford enthusiasts had plenty to enjoy at this year’s Lake Mirror Classic, which took over downtown Lakeland, Florida, from October 17–19. Running for nearly a quarter century, this year’s event delivered a strong showing for Blue Oval fans with a wide range of historic and high-performance machines, including a spotlight on 60 years of Shelby American.

There was a strong Ford presence at the 2025 Lake Mirror Classic in Lakeland, Florida, from October 17-19.

From concours-quality Cobras to custom-built muscle machines, the 2025 edition proved once again why this show draws enthusiasts to Central Florida from across the country.

What sets the Lake Mirror Classic apart isn’t just the cars, though there were plenty of impressie rides. It’s the mission behind the event. Run entirely by volunteers and free to the public, the show blends a community-focused spirit with national-caliber vehicles. All entry fees go directly to local charities, and since 2022, the event has raised over six figures for causes throughout the region.

This year’s show had no shortage of Blue Oval power. The Shelby anniversary celebration drew a strong lineup of modern and historic models and late-model interpretations of Carroll Shelby’s vision. With 2025 marking six decades since the debut of the original Shelby GTs, the timing couldn’t have been better. In honor of the anniversary, Shelby American president Gary Patterson served as the event’s Grand Marshal.

A cornerstone of the 2025 Lake Mirror Classic was a 60 Years of Shelby celebration, which included Shelby American’s Gary Patterson, President of Shelby American, as the show’s Grand Marshall. As such, there was a host of classic and modern Shelbys on hand. One of this scribe’s favorites from the S197 era was always the 2008 Shelby GT500KR, like this pristine example owned by Michael McGuirk of Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. It is number 326 of 1,000 built for that model year.

First-gen Ford GT designer Camilo Pardo also made an appearance, adding a stronger connection to the Ford legacy. As a result, there was also a strong showing of Ford supercars, including the GT90 concept car, which was once considered a Ford GT successor.

Beyond the headliners, the Lake Mirror Classic delivered an incredible range of Fords, from supercars to classsic Mustangs and everything in between. The main concours show on Saturday wrapped around the picturesque Lake Mirror promenade. At the same time, the surrounding streets were packed with open show cars, vendors, and thousands of spectators soaking chamber-of-commerce weather in the Florida sun.

With so many cars on display, picking favorites wasn’t easy. But we walked the show field and came away with five standout Blue Oval machines that grabbed our camera’s attention. From rare factory builds to well-executed customs, these were our top Ford picks from the 2025 Lake Mirror Classic…

5. 1969 Mustang

This one tugged at the heartstrings a bit. The National Muscle Car Association has crossed the finish line, but it was cool seeing one of its former competitors in the show. Rusty Gillis bought this former Boss 302 test car chassis that escaped the crusher from Blue Oval racing legend Hubert Platt. He turned it into a dedicated drag car that won big races on both coasts and, more recently, competed in the now-defunct NMCA series.

4. 1974 Detomaso Pantera-L

While not strictly a Ford, the Pantera is a Ford-powered exotic built to rival the European elite. Michael Arias’ 1974 Detomaso Pantera-L is a beautiful example of the breed that blends an Italian body with a Ford powerplant. Motivated by a mid-engine 351 Cleveland channeling its power through a ZF Hausen transaxle, this car is one of just 5,500 imported from 1971 to 1974. It is still driven every weekend and made the trip up to the Lake Mirror Classic from Miami.

3. 2025 Mustang GTD

Ford recently unleashed its ultimate pony car thus far, the Mustang GTD. This 815-horsepower, six-figure supercar was only sold to people approved by Ford through an application process. The crew at Team Shelby Racing scored this example, complete with the Drag Reduction System. Wrapped in the apropos Gulf colors first seen on the liveries of Gulf Oil-backed Ford GT race cars, the hues looked quite fetching on the modern supercar.

2. 1995 Ford GT90

In the mid-’90s, Ford’s Special Vehicle Team was known for some amazing production cars, as well as a wild string of concept vehicles that never made it to dealer lots. One of the wilder examples was the Ford GT90. Brent Hajek, owner of Hajek Motorsports Museum, brought this legendary concept car down to the Lake Mirror Classic from Ames, Oklahoma. Powered by a V12, it was meant to hunt McLaren hypercars and previewed the New Edge design language deployed on production vehicles like the 1999-2004 Mustangs.

1. 1988 Mustang LX

While the show was filled with rare classics and high-end exotics, your author loves Fox Mustangs — and this one really stood out. James Gribble’s 1988 Mustang LX. Riding on a full QA1 suspension, it sits just right. From the clean interior to the custom trunk and audio system, it is a great representation of the breed. Even cooler, it still sports pushrod power under the hood, right down to the GT-40 intake and rumbly Ford Motorsport B-cam.

Of course, these picks are subjective, and you may have different favorites than this humble author, so check out the full gallery below for a wider range of high-performance Fords from this year’s Lake Mirror Classic.