Ford Won’t Paint the $325K Mustang GTD Mystichrome Because It’s ‘A Challenge’

Perhaps Henry Ford’s most famous and overused quote is: “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it’s black.” Well, today’s Ford Motor Company is taking the opposite approach for its most special, most expensive car, the Mustang GTD. You can order the GT3-derived pony car in any shade you like—as long as it isn’t Mystichrome.

Mystichrome quickly became a fan-favorite color among Mustang enthusiasts after it debuted on the 2004 Mustang SVT Cobra at the 2003 New York International Auto Show. Ford then made 1,010 color-shifting Mystichrome Mustang Cobras, instantly becoming the most desirable of all Cobras from that era. It’s little surprise the Mustang faithful started dreaming up that iconic Chromaflair-infused paint when Ford announced its extended palette program for the GTD. However, when recently asked if GTD buyers could choose Mystichrome specifically, Ford said no.

“We won’t do it again. An owner did it for [Ford] GT. He paid extra to lock out that color. It was a challenge,” Jim Owens, Mustang Brand Manager, told CarBuzz.

The Ford GT customer Owens is referring to is California tech entrepreneur Justin Choi, who used Ford’s paint lockout option to keep others from also choosing Mystichrome. The Mustang GTD has the same lockout program, but Mystichrome isn’t on the table.

As CarBuzz puts it, it “seems that Ford simply thinks it’s too much trouble” to offer the familiar finish again. Any paint with Chromaflair’s color-changing pigments is very difficult to apply. It requires a rigorous preparation process as well as an absurdly precise mixing process, and then it must be meticulously detailed and polished afterward. Any minor imperfections, and the entire process must be started over from scratch. It’s hard and expensive, and Ford evidently doesn’t feel like dealing with it. Keep in mind that Nissan, Porsche, and even Mustang-tuning company RTR all offer Chromaflair paints. So it isn’t an impossible, unheard-of technique.

I get that the Mustang GTD is a highly limited production car, so building the facilities needed for Mystichrome would be a serious undertaking. Such costs would only be exacerbated if the customer that chose Mystichrome also chose the lockout option, meaning Ford would have to go through all that effort for just one car.

However, there’s a seemingly obvious middle-ground solution here: just don’t allow Mystichrome to be locked out. That way, Ford can charge enough to make the investment worthwhile, while keeping customers happy. Also, don’t forget the price of the Mustang GTD: $325,000 before any options or expensive paints. If customers are willing to spend Lamborghini Huracan money on a Mustang, they likely also have the scratch for Mystichrome. Ultimately, though, you’d imagine nothing is preventing Ford from changing its stance down the line. The Drive reached out to the company for comment, though no comment was received by the time of publication. We’ll update this story with any information we should learn.

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