Lee Iacocca Celebrated The Mustang's 45th Anniversary With A Custom-Bodied Limited Edition

This week Ford celebrated the 60th anniversary of its iconic Mustang, another big milestone for the brand’s pony car. While this 60th anniversary has brought a new special edition and some other fun announcements, 15 years ago the Mustang’s 45th birthday was celebrated in a very special way.

Lee Iacocca was one of the most recognizable and important figures in the automotive industry. The executive was at Chrysler from 1979 to 1992 and oversaw major rollouts in the company’s history like the introduction of the company saving K-Car, the acquisition of AMCand its golden child Jeep, and the rollout of the first Jeep Grand Cherokee. He was most remembered, though, for his 30-plus years at Ford where he helped design the original 1964 Mustang.

Some 45 years later, Iacocca would find his name attached to a unique limited edition Mustang. Ford approached Iacocca and designer Michael Leone to come up with a special design for the Mustang’s45th anniversary, based on the then-new fifth-gen 2009 Mustang GT. After the design was finalized, the bodywork was completed by Southern California–based Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters, a company that has made bodywork on concept cars for nearly every major automaker.

The result was a more handsome, classier looking Mustang with smoother lines all around, a slanted grille and sunken headlights. It’s said that Gaffoglio used a composite construction in the bodywork, similar to what’s done in the aerospace industry as well as on supercars like the Ferrari Enzo and McLaren F1. The exterior was painted in a special color created just for this Mustang called Iacocca Silver.