The Mystichrome Ford Mustang Is Back, but There Is a Catch!

However, there is a catch. You can't order a Mustang painted in the exhilarating Mystichrome directly from Ford. You will have to buy one straight from RTR Vehicles, the company founded back in 2009 by Vaughn Gittin Jr. to design and manufacture performance vehicle packages for the Ford lineup.

"This is more than just a paint job," says Gittin Jr., explaining that it is about giving the RTR owners a way to express their passion and individuality like never before possible on a Mustang.

However, those who want one will have to hurry. Only 1,000 Mustang RTR examples will be available with the Mystichrome. The paintwork will be more expensive than anything else in the Ford Mustang or RTR color portfolio: it is listed as a $15,995 option.

The Mystichrome made its debut 20 years ago with the 2004 Mustang Cobra, which was unveiled at the New York International Auto Show. It was Ford's way of celebrating the Mustang's 40th anniversary. It came as a dynamic range of hues, which included blue, gold, green, purple, and root beer, shifting tones depending on the light and the angle you looked at it from. Ford charged $3,650 for this option in 2004.

There was also a Mystic paint in the Mustang lineup
Ford had another color-shifting paint in its lineup, called "mystic," and it came with the 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra. The Mystic paint was developed by BASF and used color-shifting ChromaFlair pigments from Flex Products. Twenty-eight years ago, the paintwork, which took three years to research and develop, was available for $815.

Ford rolled out 1,999 Mystic Cobras, 1,990 of which came with black leather interiors, while the other nine had black fabric interiors.

It was just as rare then as it will be this time because only around 1,000 vehicles received it. Now, the time has come for 1,000 more of the new generation to have it. The Mystichrome is available through the RTR Extended Color Palette and Paint-to-Sample program, which also offers any color the customers may think of.

"It's been too long, and someone had to do it," says Vaughn Gittin Jr., who admits that the Mystichrome is his absolute favorite.

The programs also offer tones like the RTR Hyper Lime, Rosso Scuderia, and Urban Bamboozie, while the NATO Olive and Signal Green will be available at a later date.

The Mustang RTR Spec 2 and Mustang RTR Spec 3 will be the only ones to receive the Mystichrome. The Spec 2 comes with Ford's 5.0-liter V8, which produces 480 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque. An optional active performance exhaust system can bring 6 horsepower and 3 pound-feet more to the mix.

Meanwhile, the Spec 3 is equipped with the 3.0-liter Ford Performance Whipple Supercharger for a total of 810 horsepower and 615 pound-feet of torque. It's got 20-inch staggered RTR wheels with Nitto tires, RTR Tactical Performance Lowering Springs, an RTR Shock Mount Kit and several upgrades that turn it into a track weapon and making it – as its creators label it – "Ready to Rock."