More than 1,300 Mustang owners and their cars galloped out to Ford’s development center in Belgium to put on the world’s coolest parade.
The Ford Mustang has been an American automotive icon for more than half a century. In that time, the Mustang has become popular in other parts of the world, too. That explains why Ford was recently able to set a world record for the largest Mustang parade of all time in Belgium.
Yes, you read that right. Belgium. It took place at Ford’s Lommel Proving Ground, where the Blue Oval hones its European vehicles’ various technologies and driving dynamics on a 60-mile track. Believe it or not, Belgium is also where Ford sells more Mustangs per person than it does in any other European country. Altogether, Europeans bought 5,500 new Mustangs in the first half of this year – an increase of 3.7 percent compared to the same timeframe in 2018. Their enthusiasm helped make the Mustang “the world’s best-selling sports coupe for the fourth year in a row in 2018,” according to Ford.
The owners of every generation of Mustang showed up at Lommel to help Ford top its previous record of 960 Mustangs. Once Ford finished counting, it was clear that its devoted fans not only beat that figure, they absolutely destroyed it. They brought out 1,326 first-generation, Mustang II, Fox body, SN95, New Edge, S197, and S550 models in an assortment of body styles and a rainbow of colors. As the video above shows, one of them even had Dubai license plates.
But it wasn’t just about the numbers. To officially beat the record, the Mustang lovers also had to drive 66 feet (20 meters) or less apart from each other in an unbroken convoy. They even performed a special choreography to celebrate the Mustang’s 55th anniversary (no word on whether anyone fishtailed and crashed leaving the event, but we guess no news is good news in this case). Ford even had a P51 Mustang fighter plane, which inspired the name of Ford’s legendary pony car, fly over the parade.
Belgium isn’t the only place where the Mustang is a national treasure. We mentioned earlier in this post that Ford’s previous Mustang parade record was 960 cars. Its devoted fans hit that number back on December 3, 2017 – in Toluca, Mexico.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
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