10 Of The Most Collectible Ford Muscle Cars Worth Buying (If You Can Find One)

Ford is one of the largest and oldest automakers in the U.S. The company has been around since 1903 and have helped innovate the auto industry in myriad ways. Arguably the most famous is Henry Ford's moving assembly line, which revolutionized car production in the early 1900s. With such a long and rich history, it's no surprise that Ford Motor Company has some of the most collectible vehicles of any automaker. In 2012, the automaker said it had produced 350 million cars in the 109 years it existed at that point — an average of 8,797 cars manufactured per day.

As such, it's no surprise that at least some of those cars are huge collector's items. For example, an original Ford Model T can be had anywhere from a few thousand dollars to nearly a quarter of a million depending on how original the parts are and how well it's been restored. 

At this point, essentially any Ford muscle car is a collectible but there are some unique vehicles in Ford's lineup that are a smidge rarer than the rest. Here are some of Ford's most collectible cars that you should at least try to drive someday, even if you never own one. 

The 1969 and 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429 was an optional variant of the already popular Ford Mustang. The major difference takes place under the hood. Most of the Ford Mustangs built in 1969 and 1970 had either the forgotten inline-six engine, the 302 small block V8, the 351 small block V8, or the 428 big block V8.

However, what makes the Ford Mustang Boss 429 so special is the 429 cubic inch big block V8 that went into it. Like Dodge, the 429 had Hemi heads, which means Ford fans can still get in on the Hemi action if they pick up a Boss 429. With the upgraded engine and performance enhancements, the Boss 429 could scoot to 60 MPH in 6.5 seconds and complete a quarter mile run in 14 seconds on its way to a top speed of 128 MPH. Officially, the Boss 429 was listed as having 375 horsepower and 450 lb.-ft of torque, but the actual number was probably closer to 500 horsepower.

Ford developed the car for NASCAR. At the time, NASCAR required automakers to actually build and sell at least 500 cars to the public if it was going to race them. Ford complied by making 859 road-legal Boss 429s in 1969 and another 499 in 1970 — which makes these Boss 429s some of Ford's rarest Ford Mustang variants. 

Shelby American is a company that's almost as legendary as it founder — race car and driver and car designer Carroll Shelby – and one of its best known creations is the 1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350. Shelby rolled its first Ford Mustangs off the production line in 1965, making this year in particular one of the most iconic to get your hands on. As the story goes, Lee Iacocca's team reached out to Shelby to see if the brand wanted to get their hands on the Ford Mustang. Shelby replied in the affirmative and the 1965 Shelby GT350 was born. 

All told, there were exactly 562 Shelby GT350s built, which includes prototypes and the race-only R models. It's fairly commonplace for folks to take a regular Ford Mustang from that era and adorn it with Shelby parts and attire, so clones of this particular model are fairly commonplace. However, if you can find one that isn't a reproduction, then you have one of the rarest cars built in a Ford production plant. 

The Shelby GT350 was built with a V8 that made 310 horsepower and 329 lb.-ft of torque. It could do zero to 60 MPH in 6.7 seconds and had a top speed of 134 MPH. Picking up this beast won't be a small purchase, either. The car is known for going hundreds of thousands of dollars in the rare instances one makes it to an auction.

The 1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351 was one of Ford's last true muscle cars before the Clean Air Act of 1970 gutted the industry. Along with being one of the last muscle cars produced in that era before the low horsepower engines of the later '70s and 1980s, it was also one of Ford's last hurrahs after the cancellation of the Boss 302 and Boss 429. The car was also larger than prior Mustangs so that Ford could shove increasingly large engines into it. Those engines would never really come, but it didn't matter much. 

The reason it didn't matter is because of the 351 cubic inch engine that came in the Boss 351. Dubbed Cleveland, the engine was listed as capable of 330 horsepower. It could sprint to 60 MPH in 6.6 seconds. It wasn't the fastest, but it was only 0.3 seconds off of the 1971 Mustang Mach 1 that was equipped with a 429 Cobra Jet engine. So, aside from its rarity, that 351 cubic inch V8 was something pretty special for its size. 

Only 1,806 Boss 351 rolled off of the factory floor and Ford didn't come back to make another one in 1972 or, well, ever again. Since the prices generally stay well under $100,000, it's also one of the more affordable options in terms of collectible Ford muscle cars. 

The 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT isn't the most exclusive or expensive collectible on the list, but it does have one of the best stories. The car is best known for being the V8 Interceptor in the movie "Mad Max" and "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior." Reportedly, the V8 Interceptor cost the film crew approximately $35,000 to get ready for filming, and it is entirely possible to recreate this gem of a car in real life.

To start, you'll need a Ford Falcon XB GT. Ford Australia made the car from 1973 through 1976. You can technically use any of the model years that you want, but you'll need a 1973 hardtop to be accurate to the movie. Under the hood should be the 351 Cleveland V8 engine that powered the 1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351. The only caveat is that the car is made for Australian buyers. Since Australians drive on the left side of the road, all Ford Falcon XB GTs come with the steering wheel on the right side of the car. 

Ford Australia made a grand total of 1,952 XB GT sedans and 949 XB GT hardtops. The movie version of the car is the hardtop variant, which can go for a pretty penny if fully modified to resemble the movie version.

The 1968 Ford Fairlane Torino 428, also known as the Ford Torino GT, is an interesting Ford muscle car. It has all of the specs and looks of a powerful muscle car but was actually a budget-oriented vehicle. The car's production was interrupted by a strike and Ford made several midyear changes to production to help cut costs. Late in the model year, Ford added the R-code Cobra Jet 428 engine available in all models of the car except the station wagon. 

The 428 Cobra Jet engine was one of Ford's best efforts in the 1960s. It was officially rated at 335 horsepower, but was likely capable of producing 415. Years later, MotorTrend did some independent testing and found that the engine put up around 365 horsepower and around 452 lb.-ft of torque. Eventually, Ford stuffed this engine into the Ford Mustang and helped it become one of the most iconic muscle cars of the 1960s. In the interim, the Ford Torino GT used the engine as a total sleeper. 

There are two things that make this car unique. The first is that Ford only reportedly made about 660 examples with the 428 Cobra Jet. Ford would bring the engine back for the 1969 model year and produced around 3,910. So, while both model years are rare comparatively speaking, finding a 1968 Ford Torino GT with an original 428 engine is much harder to do. 

Earlier, we talked about how NASCAR required automakers to make a specific number of cars available for public consumption and how Ford did that with the Ford Mustang Boss 429. Well, meet the 1969 Ford Talladega, which was built for exactly the same reason. Ford wanted to race this car and had to make some to sell to the public in order to do it. The car is a modified Ford Torino Cobra made specifically for racing and is often referred to as the 1969 Ford Torino GT Talladega Special. 

Ford changed a few things to make this car race ready. Most of the modifications, like a welded on front bumper, was added only to the ones Ford actually raced while the publicly available versions came with typical noses. Most modifications were under the hood, and they were surprisingly minor. The car packed Ford's excellent 428 Cobra Jet with a C6 automatic transmission. It's the same 428 that was available in the Ford Torino GT, so we won't go over the details again. Suffice it to say that the Ford Talladega could move when you pushed the pedal down far enough. 

NASCAR dictated that Ford build 500 of these for public sale. Ford went above and beyond and made 750 of them. That means if you find one, you have one of the rarest Ford vehicles ever built. These don't go on sale frequently and are often auctioned off rather than sold privately. 

The Ford Shelby Cobra is one of the coolest cars Ford ever made. It was built as a joint venture between Ford, AC Cobra, and Shelby, which is why the car bears the name of all three companies. These little British-style cruisers don't look like much, but they packed quite a punch. The Shelby Cobra manages a curb weight of just 2,480 pounds but still had V8 power in them. The result were tiny cars that could go very fast, often beating out its main competitor, the Chevy Corvette.

It doesn't really matter which year you go for because they're all expensive, rare, and powerful. However, the newer models do get more powerful as time goes. Ford initially strapped either a 260 cubic inch or 289 cubic inch V8 into the earliest models. That was eventually upgraded to the 427 cubic inch V8 in 1965. So, if you want the highest amount of speed, you'll want one made from 1965 through 1967. These cars have such a loyal following that you can build replicas using parts from third parties. 

The reason you may want to consider a replica is because the originals are rare and expensive. Only about 1,000 Cobras were produced in its six-year production run. When they do on sale, which is rare, they typically go for around $160,000, with some going for as much as a quarter of a million bucks.

Technically, the 2025 Ford Mustang 60th Anniversary Edition is not out yet as of this writing. However, if you're looking for a modern car that will be a collector's item on launch, the 2025 Mustang is probably your best bet until the 70th anniversary comes along. As the name implies, the car is being made to commemorate the 60th trip around the sun that the Ford Mustang badge has lived through. It'll also only come in three colors, including white, red, and blue with interiors that can be gray, black, or red. 

Ford is adding several extra flourishes to make this variant stand out from the rest of the 2025 Mustang lineup. That includes exclusive 20-inch Dark Gravity Gray wheels with a retro-style red center cap. Under the hood is a 5.0-liter V8. It's likely Ford's Coyote engine that adorns current Mustangs and Ford F-150s, which can make 460 horsepower and 420 lb.-ft of torque. 

Exclusivity is being built into the 60th Anniversary Edition. Ford is only making 1,965 of them in honor of the Mustang's release year. The package will only be available on the Mustang Premium models in coupe and convertible bodies along with a manual or automatic transmission, which means that there are some choices for potential owners.

The 1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt is a different kind of collectible car. Ford built this machine specifically for racing, and it showed. Ford took out the backseat, all sound insulation, the radio, and even the heater in order to save as much weight as possible. The original windows were also made out of Plexiglass to save a few pounds. In short, this car is not the most comfortable muscle car Ford ever made. 

What it did have was equipment to make it go fast. Ford reworked the suspension, added a number of performance parts and tunings, and even gave it a set of drag radials from Goodyear. The result was a car that could do a quarter mile run in 11.61 seconds. Under the hood was a 427 cubic inch, 7.0-liter V8 that made 425 horsepower and 480 lb.-ft of torque on paper. In real life, it was likely a little higher. 

Comfort wasn't a priority with this car but exclusivity certainly is. Ford only reportedly made about 100 of these with roughly half of them being automatic transmissions and half being manual. Coming across one in this day and age is a real treat, although they are pricey — usually these cars go for north of $200,000 when they do occasionally go on sale. 

The 1970 Ford Torino King Cobra has a history not unlike several other cars on this list. It was built for racing during a brief period of the late 1960s and early 1970s when aerodynamics design was at its peak. That's why the car looks oddly curvy when compared to other Ford muscle cars from that era. However, this car never went on sale to the public and all known examples are Ford prototypes. 

Internally, the car is fairly similar to Ford's other top offerings of the day. It housed a 429 Cobra Jet engine with an automatic gearbox. The engine was tuned to deliver 370 horsepower but, as we're quickly learning, automakers often fudged the paperwork with horsepower numbers. Unlike the Ford Fairline Thunderbolt, the Ford Torino King Cobra includes some niceties like a backseat. 

Unfortunately, some shakeups at Ford HQ along with some changes to NASCAR rules rendered the King Cobra DOA. Thus, only three examples of this car exist. One sold for $453,000 at an auction in 2018 and the other went up for auction in 2022. All variants were owned at one point by Ford executives. One is orange and the other two are yellow. Good luck finding one, but it is one unique piece of Ford history.

As previously stated, we could've put together a list of varying Ford muscle cars from varying years and still technically hit the mark. After all, while the 1969 Ford Mustang was quite popular, it was also built over 50 years ago and the number still on the roads today is only going down. The same holds true for many of Ford's vehicles over the years. They are called classic cars for a reason and it's because they're old, cool, and still highly sought after.

However, such a list would be boring. They are classic cars, but you can find a regular 1969 Ford Mustang for anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 pretty easily. By contrast, the 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 is a much rarer car that can go for hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is a trend up and down Ford's lineup. You can find some classic cars fairly easily, but most years have versions of cars that are special, rare, or otherwise cooler than the stock variants. Plus, when you toss in cars made by Shelby and other modified vehicles, and you can find some really cool stuff. 

So that's what we did for the list. All of the cars on the listed are either special editions, heavily modified vehicles, or cars that were only made for one or two years. If you can get your hands on these, you'll not only have a sweet ride but it's also one that can start a conversation since all of these cars have interesting histories.