Ford‘s answer to 125 years of racing history is a 1966 Mustang Fastback with a 347-cubic-inch crate engine, a five-speed Tremec gearbox, and a name that skips the nostalgia pitch entirely. The Ford Racing R125 Mustang is a build showcase for SEMA 2026, constructed around current Ford Racing Parts components rather than period-correct hardware, and it makes the case that classic platforms are more interesting when they actually work.
The powertrain is the substance here. A Ford Racing Boss block topped with aluminum cylinder heads and Edelbrock Pro-Flo electronic fuel injection puts 360 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque under the classic hood, numbers that sit comfortably above the Mustang GT’s 480-hp modern V8 only if you’re comparing displacement-per-dollar rather than outright output, but feel appropriate for a 1966 chassis designed around a very different performance envelope. A Tremec TKX-600 five-speed handles power delivery, an upgrade Ford characterizes as offering smoother shifts and better durability than the prior Tremec TKO. In a build intended to be driven rather than displayed, that distinction matters.
Ford also fitted the R125 with two-piece Ford Racing Parts valve covers, a detail that rewards a closer look. The patented design uses interchangeable top sections, captured O-ring seals, and integrated spark plug wire looms, making them both functional and field-serviceable in ways that chrome show-car covers typically are not. It is a small choice that signals the broader intent: the R125 is meant to demonstrate what thoughtful parts selection looks like, not just what a finished car looks like.
The timing is tied to Ford Racing’s 125th anniversary, anchored to Henry Ford’s 1901 victory over Alexander Winton in a two-car race that, according to company history, helped attract the financial backing that eventually led to Ford Motor Company. Ford’s customization and performance parts business has leaned on that founding-race narrative before; the R125 gives it a physical object to point at.
What the car is not: a preview of a production model, a prototype for any upcoming variant, or a direct competitor to anything in the current Mustang Dark Horse SC lineage. It is a SEMA show vehicle built by Ford Customer Service Division through its Ford Racing Parts and Ford Customization arms, designed to let builders see which components they can actually order. Ford has not announced pricing for any bespoke elements beyond noting that the featured parts are available through Ford Racing Parts.
The Mustang has sold between 45,000 and 53,000 units annually in recent years, 45,333 in 2025 alone, which means Ford’s enthusiast parts business is working with a nameplate that still moves meaningful volume. The V10 Mustang prototype revived by the Ford Heritage Fleet earlier this year and the 2027 Mustang Mach-E Trail package both reflect the same instinct: the Mustang name carries enough weight across enough eras that Ford keeps finding reasons to activate it in different directions. The R125 is the heritage-parts direction, dressed in the most recognizable body Ford ever built.
At SEMA, the R125 will share floor space with plenty of builds using the same foundational hardware. What Ford is betting is that a show car built by the parts supplier, using parts the supplier actually sells, lands differently than one that exists only as a one-off. That is either a clever retail activation or a very expensive parts catalog. Probably both.
Source: Ford. Images courtesy of Ford.
