In the long line of cars snaking out of the senior lot after a long day at school, there it is: the shiny silver Mustang logo emblemed under the spoiler of an equally shiny grey sports car.
Once senior Ben Mitchell’s dream car, his 2017 Ford Mustang became reality when he bought it a month ago.
Though he had been saving money for years, acquiring the car itself was more happenstance than on purpose. The Mustang had been sitting in a garage for years before being sold to a nearby dealership, where Mitchell purchased the car after hearing about it from a family friend.
“He noticed that there was a Mustang out there for a really good deal, but it needed some work, so I was like okay, I’m going to take up on that offer,” Mitchell said.
While much of the car was in working order, some elements, like the exhaust and the engine intake, needed to be replaced. Mitchell also brought the car to the shop for work on the iconic sequential, or chasing, tail lights.
“It probably took me around five hours of compiled work to get that done, excluding the shop,” he said. “Now it’s a very personalized Mustang, it’s not like the ones you see on the road.”
Another defining feature of the car, a fan favorite among passengers, is the noise its engine makes.
“There’s something very potent and unique about it,” Mitchell said. “This particular version of the engine, the V6 Cyclone engine, it has this very deep but also trumpety sound that everybody can recognize.”
Though getting the car was unexpected, Mitchell hopes to keep it with him beyond high school and has many fond memories driving it around with friends.
“You can only be young with a sports car once in your life,” he said.
