Is the Mustang GT California Special the Ultimate Vacation Car?
Ford Lent Us a Mustang GT California Special for a Week-Long Getaway, but did it Provide the Ultimate Escape?
When you’re driving your Mustang, do you ever draw comparisons between it and a Bentley Continental GT? Only a crazy person would do that, right? Well, I’m here to tell you I’ve done exactly that with the Ford Mustang GT California Special, and still, according to my doctors, I am of sound mind.
But I’m also a special case. During my week with the Mustang GT California Special, I drove it up the coast from Los Angeles to Santa Cruz. The last time I did a drive similar to that was at the end of 2015 when Bentley gave me a W12-powered Continental GT Convertible to take up to San Francisco. As you can see, then, my comparison is warranted.
Obviously, I enjoyed the Bentley more than the Mustang. Furthermore, to answer the question posed in this article’s title, I’d say the Bentley is still the ultimate vacation car. Even so, the Mustang GT California Special feels like it was built for California coastline. The Bentley, on the other hand, is better suited for a jaunt around the Isle of Wight.
ALSO SEE: What Forum Members Are Saying About This Mustang Road Trip
Mustang convertibles without the “California Special” badging would still be shoe-ins for a Saturday Night Live sketch of “The Californians”. The California Special, however, with its black-and-white color scheme goes the extra mile toward amplifying the majesty of any Big Sur coastal backdrop. So is the Mustang GT California Special the ultimate car for a drive up Big Sur? No. In that regard, the $274,790 Bentley reigns over the $48,480 Mustang. Yet in spite of the Bentley’s royalty, the Mustang’s placement on California coastline feels more poetic.
Is this Mustang California Special poetic enough to make anyone feel special in California, though? Can this car live up to its name? The answers to those questions lie within the video above.
gallery images via [Joseph Yoon]