Red Tails Mustang joins auction at AirVenture Oshkosh

Ford has produced a one-off Red Tails edition of the 2013 Ford Mustang GT for an auction at the Gathering of Eagles charity event on July 26. The event will take place during the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture Oshkosh 2012 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wis.

Proceeds will benefit the Young Eagles program, which provides free introductory flights for young people. The program is meant to inspire and motivate the next generation of aviators.

Red Tails is a nickname for the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African-American fighter pilots who served in World War II. They were known by the red-painted tails of their P-51 Mustang fighters, and they flew more than 1,500 missions.

“The perseverance and excellence displayed by the Tuskegee Airmen are qualities we also celebrate at Ford,” said Edsel B. Ford II, a member of Ford's board of directors. “With this year's beautiful 'Red Tails' edition Mustang, we've captured the recognizable symbols in honor of their important role in our history.”

The glass-roof GT Mustang will wear VIN No. 00051 in honor of the squadron, and it will sport a red tail and yellow accents like those found on the planes. It also gets the U.S. Army Corps, 332nd Fighter Group and Squadrons logos.

Inside, the Red Tail Mustang has a modified navigation screen, a unique instrument cluster and a rear-seat delete. The Recaro seats are stitched with “Red Tails” on the headrests, while puddle lights will project the logo when the doors open.

As far as performance goes, the Red Tails Mustang GT is upgraded with a 2.3-liter supercharger, bringing output to an impressive 642 hp. It also has side-exiting quad exhausts, brakes from Brembo and 20-inch wheels.

This latest car will join four other one-of-a-kind Mustangs built for the event in recent years. In 2008, Blue Oval engineers came up with the Mustang AV8R featuring cues from the F-22 Raptor. That car netted $500,000 for the charity. In 2009, it was the AV-X10 “Dearborn Doll” to celebrate World War II planes. In 2010, Carroll Shelby and Jack Roush built the SR-71 Blackbird Mustang, in honor of the plane with the same name. And last year, a special Mustang was built to honor the Blue Angels.

Visit www.airventure.org to find out more about the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2012.

By Jake Lingeman