Rare 1969 Ford Mustang Grande

Although it may seem like all late 60s muscle cars were built solely with performance in mind four decades later, this commercial is clear proof to the contrary. During the height of the muscle car performance era, the 1969 Ford Mustang Grande was marketed to the buyer more concerned with luxury, elegance and dramatic Spanish music.

When you think of late 1960s Ford Mustangs, luxury is probably not the first image that comes to mind. That is however the exact image that Ford was trying to project for the new for 1969 Grande model. In contrast to the loud and fast muscle cars of the era, the Grande was all about cool luxury. From its suave Bond-esque introduction to its “whole cascade of extras”, Ford sought to make it clear, the Grande’s emphasis was on elegance.

Only 22,182 buyers opted for the elegance of the Grande package in 1969, while Ford managed to sell 128,458 regular Mustang hardtops that year. Interestingly enough, it was possible to order any Mustang engine, including the 428 Cobra Jet V8 in the Grande. The combination of the elegant Grande package and the high performance Cobra Jet required a unique and wealthy Mustang buyer as neither of the rather contradictory options came cheap. Accordingly, only 62 Grandes were built with a 428 Cobra Jet in 1969, and the few remaining examples of the oddball combination are very collectible.