Ever Seen It Before? The 1979 Ford Mustang Daytona Concept Car

This is the 1979 Ford Mustang Daytona concept car, it was built for Ford by Cars and Concepts and then displayed at the 1979 New York, Chicago, and Detroit Auto Shows.

The car is powered by the 5.0 liter V8 mated to a 4-speed manual transmission, and it was fitted with upgraded suspension, classic wire wheels, a dual exhaust, and a series of significant body modifications inside and out.

Fast Facts – The 1979 Ford Mustang Daytona

• This is the 1979 Ford Mustang Daytona concept, built by Cars and Concepts. It was designed to preview potential design features early in the Fox Body Mustang era. It was displayed at major auto shows by Ford and included modifications like a T-top roof, upgraded suspension, wire wheels, custom paint, and custom bodywork.
• Ford’s Fox Body Mustang, launched in 1979, aimed to restore performance and desirability to the Mustang series after the lackluster Mustang II era. Initially well-received, the model faced declining sales by the mid-1980s, narrowly avoiding replacement by a Mazda-sourced, front-wheel-drive vehicle, eventually released separately as the Ford Probe.
• The Daytona concept featured unique elements such as Lincoln Versailles headlights, custom smoked panels with Mustang branding, a vivid orange-red exterior, and a leather interior with special Daytona badging. Originally equipped with Borrani wire wheels, it now rides on Dayton wires with optional Ansen alloys.
• After its auto show debut, the Mustang Daytona served as a pace car at Daytona and spent two decades exhibited at the Henry Ford Museum. Restored in 2005, it has since received multiple awards, magazine features, and will appear at Mecum’s Indy 2025 auction.

The Fox Body Mustang

The third generation Mustang was colloquially called the Fox Body, as it was based on the Ford Fox platform which it shared with a number of other models, including the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr.

This would be the Mustang that was intended to bring back the performance and desirability of the Mustang, after the Malaise Era release of the Ford Mustang II. While the Mustang II did sell well, it was never really deemed cool by anyone other than its owners, and its curbside desirability was far lower than the icons of the first generation Mustang family.

With the third generation Mustang, the design was brought up to date, though it was still lighter and more compact than the first generation models. The design was widely considered to be more attractive than its immediate predecessor, though some would argue that it didn’t really find its feet until the facelift in 1987.

Sales of the Fox Body had slumped by the mid-1980s and many executives at Ford wanted to replace it with a far more cost effective Mazda-sourced front-wheel-drive vehicle. Ultimately (and fortunately) this never came to pass, and the car was instead released as a separate model named the Ford Probe.

With the release of the 1987 facelifted version of the Mustang the desirability of the car seemed to improve somewhat, though sales were still nowhere near the level that Ford had been hoping for. Special models like the SVO, Cobra, SVT Cobra helped to improve the public perception of the car, and in recent years these versions have seen their values increasing.

The 1979 Ford Mustang Daytona Concept Car

The car you see here is the 1979 Ford Mustang Daytona concept car that was built for Ford by Cars and Concepts. Production of the Fox Body Mustang had only begun in 1978 (as the 1979 model year), so this concept car was developed to show potential future design elements.

It seems likely that the “Daytona” name was chosen as a reference to the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 “Daytona,” which had similar perspex covers over the headlights on earlier models.

One design element that was incorporated into this car that made it onto the production Mustang later was the T-top roof. T-tops were not a factory option until 1981, and this is likely to have been the first ever given one.

Apparently Ford commissioned Cars and Concepts to build five of these, however it’s not known if they were all built. What we do know is that this was the only complete and fully functional example that was completed.

This car was based on the Mustang of the time, with a 5.0 liter V8 and the 4-speed manual transmission. It was finished in Vivid Red Orange paintwork, and given a one-piece smoked grille panel featuring an etched running horse logo and 1979 Lincoln Versailles headlights by the team at Cars and Concepts.

In the rear, the car was given a matching full-length smoked plastic rear panel with custom “Ford Mustang” etching. It was originally fitted with Borrani wire wheels but now wears very similar Dayton wire wheels, and the car is accompanied by Ansen 5-spoke alloy wheels with BF Goodrich radial tires.

Inside you’ll find a custom full-length center console by Cars and Concepts, as well as medium tan leather front and rear bucket seats, air conditioning, a leather-stitched steering wheel, an AM/FM stereo, and Daytona branding on the dashboard.

This car was displayed at the 1979 New York, Chicago, and Detroit Auto Shows by Ford. It then served as a pace car for the 1979 Daytona road course events. After this it spent 20 years on display at the Henry Ford Museum.

In 2005 the car was given a refresh including a new coat of paint in the original color. After this it was featured in a cover article in Mustang Enthusiast in the April 2009 issue. This was followed by 2011 and 2012 Detroit Autorama class awards, a feature article in Mustang Monthly in the July 2013 issue, and more recently an Award of Distinction at the Cincinnati Concours d’Elegance in June of 2024.

The car is now due to roll across the block with Mecum at their Indy 2025 auction. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Mecum