This is a rare 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 “Twister Special,” it’s one of 96 ever made and one of just 48 built with the desirable Super Cobra Jet big block V8.
There are only a handful of original Twister Specials known to remain, original examples that is, and they’re among the most collectible Mustangs of the era. The example shown here is also one of the quickest Mustangs of the time, thanks to that Super Cobra Jet V8 and its 335 bhp and 440 lb ft of torque.
Fast Facts – The Ford Mustang Mach 1 “Twister Special”
- The 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 “Twister Special” is a rare limited edition, with only 96 ever made, and just 48 featuring the powerful Super Cobra Jet V8 engine, producing 335 bhp and 440 lb ft of torque.
- The Twister Specials were originally intended for American Raceways International but were repurposed for Kansas City dealers after ARI went bankrupt. All were painted in Grabber Orange, with unique tornado decals, and included Ford’s Competition Suspension package.
- These Mustangs featured deluxe interiors with Mach 1 bucket seats, woodgrain trim, and a black honeycomb rear panel.
- This specific Twister Special is one of the few remaining originals, retaining its numbers-matching Super Cobra Jet V8. It has undergone an extensive body-off restoration and comes with full documentation, making it a highly collectible car now set to auction at Mecum in January.
What Were The Twister Specials?
The Twister Specials were a series of Mach 1 Mustangs (and Torino Cobras) built exclusively for Ford’s Kansas City sales district dealers. Just 96 were made in total, but the project had actually started out with very different intentions.
The bright Grabber Orange paint, black side stripes, and tornado “Twister” decals on the rear quarter-panels help identify a Twister Special over a standard Mach 1.The cars we know today as Twister Specials were originally intended for American Raceways International (ARI), they had requested 1970 Mustang convertibles for use as pace cars and limited editions.
Ford’s Special Promotions Division was given the task of creating a unique look for these cars, including unique side stripes and graphics. All was going swimmingly until ARI suddenly went bankrupt, leaving Ford with almost 100 cars on order and nowhere to ship them to.
Someone at Ford struck upon the idea of changing things up and turning these pre-ordered cars into a limited edition series of specials for Kansas City Ford dealers, using the “twister” name and graphics as a reference to the frequent tornados that struck the area.
It’s important to note that different cars were used for the Twister Special series, the original ARI cars were not converted into Twisters. The ARI cars had been “pre-sold” to Ford’s Kansas City dealers, and so their individual allotments were simply shifted over to the Twister Special.
The cars were all finished in Grabber Orange paint with a black interior, they had functional Shaker hood scoops, and they were equipped with power steering and power front disc brakes. All Twister Specials were given Competition Suspension and the 3.50 Traction-Lok differential (a limited-slip differential).
Inside you would find a Mach 1 deluxe bucket-seat interior, with molded door panels, a center console, woodgrain trim throughout, and three-spoke Rim Blow steering wheel. The cars all had the Mustang SportsRoofs, Ford’s name for the fastback roof-type, they also had grille-mounted fog lights, aluminum lower rocker panels, and a black honeycomb rear panel.
Inside, the cars looked much like the regular Mach 1s, they were optioned with a deluxe bucket-seat interior, with molded door panels, a center console, woodgrain trim throughout, and three-spoke Rim Blow steering wheel.The cars could be identified by the combination of their Grabber Orange paint (which was actually yellow) and their black midlevel side stripes with tornado “Twister” decals on the rear quarter-panels. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Kansas City dealers had no problem selling the cars and today they’re considered highly collectible – with just a handful known to remain and currently on the official registry.
It’s worth noting that a significant number of Twister Special replicas have been made over the years, with some even trying to sell them as originals, so as always it’s important to ensure that any car you’re looking at has its documents in order, and can be authenticated.
The Ford Mustang Mach 1 Twister Special Shown Here
The car you see here is one of the 96 original Twister Specials, which would be special enough, however it’s also one of the rarer 48 examples built with the more powerful Super Cobra Jet big block V8.
The Super Cobra Jet is a 428 cubic inch (7.0 liter) V8 with a four-barrel carburetor that’s capable of 335 bhp at 5,200 rpm and 440 lb ft of torque at 3,200 rpm. At the time of its release, many believed these figures were being understated so as not to draw the ire of government regulators or insurance companies.
The Twister Special you see here has its Super Cobra Jet mated to a Select-Shift Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission, with power sent to the rear wheels via the Traction-Lok differential that all Twisters were fitted with.
Power is provided by a prodigious Super Cobra Jet big block V8 producing 335 bhp at 5,200 rpm and 440 lb ft of torque at 3,200 rpm.This car benefits from an extensive body-off restoration and importantly, it still has its original matching numbers R-code drivetrain in place. It was sold new at Jayhawk Ford in Parsons, Kansas and it comes with its shipping invoices, window sticker, build sheet, warranty booklet, owner’s manual, and a deluxe Marti report.
It’s now due to roll across the auction block with Mecum in mid-January, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Mecum
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
