Indianapolis Pace Car
Ford built about 11000 Indianapolis Pace Car replicas in 1979 to commemorate the new Mustang bodyline and the pace car of the 1979 Indianapolis 500 race. All replica cars had a flip-up sunroof, red and orange striping, unique pewter/black paint scheme, unique hood, three-slat grille, premium Recaro bucket seats, and a choice of turbo-four or regular V-8 engines. The Race-day decals were included for dealers to apply if the customer wished.

• See some 1979 photos
• Other years of the : 1964 [1979] 1994
• Explore 1979 Mustang information, stats, and data
• More Special and Limited Edition Mustangs from 1979

Examples of a 1979 Mustang
(click on the photo for a larger image and more information)

1979, Pewter, , hatchback
1979 Mustang Indianapolis 500 Pace Car, one of about 11000 replica pace cars built in 1979. All replica cars had a flip-up sunroof instead of a T-top. The replicas had the same striping, pewter/black paint scheme (a special pewter silver paint reserved only for this model), unique hood, three-slat grille, premium Recaro bucket seats, and a choice of turbo-four or regular V-8 engines. The Race-day decals were included for dealers to apply if the customer wished. This replica has a rebuilt 302 V8 engine.

1979, Pewter, , hatchback
Actual 1979 Mustang Indianapolis 500 Pace Car. Second Mustang featured as a pace car for the Indianapolis 500, Mustangs where featured as pace cars in 1964, 1979 and 1994. Driven by Jackie Stewart, this car was a colorfully striped hatchback with a special T-bar roof and a V-8 tuned by Jack Roush to attain the Brickyard's required 120-mph minimum track speed. Ford offered replicas with the same striping, special pewter/black paint scheme, unique hood and three-slat grille, and premium Recaro bucket seats, and a choice of turbo-four or regular V-8 engines. Race-day decals (all the lettering details) were included for dealers to apply if the customer wished. In many cases these cars were sold with the decals not applied but rolled up and placed in the trunk, for the customer to apply later.

1979, Pewter, , fastback
I spotted this Pewter 1979 Mustang Indianapolis 500 Pace Car at the 2010 Mustang and Ford car show at Uftring Ford in East Peoria, Illinois. This is the first time I've seen one of these in person. The graphics on this car are pretty neat in person.