Key Takeaways

• Mystichrome was an iconic color offered on the 2004 Mustang Cobra, but won’t be available on the Mustang GTD.
• Achieving a color-shifting finish like Mystichrome is difficult and requires precise preparation and application.
• Ford revived Mystichrome for the Ford GT, but it was a one-off.

It was 21 years ago when Ford began preparations to celebrate the Mustang’s then-upcoming 40th anniversary by presenting a special version of the 2004 Mustang Cobra at the 2003 New York International Auto Show. Inspired by the 1996 Mystic Cobra’s stunning paint, SVT unveiled a Mustang with a new color-shifting ChromaFlair-infused finish called Mystichrome, with hues of purple, green, gold, and blue. Just 1,010 Mystichrome Mustang Cobras were produced (515 coupes and 495 convertible), making it an instant icon, and the finish has been highly sought after ever since.

With the Mustang GTD approaching production and promising to offer plenty of exciting paint options, it would seem that a perfect storm is brewing to create the most extreme ‘Stang yet, but unfortunately, despite an asking price north of $300,000, CarBuzz can confirm that Mystichrome is the one color that will NOT find its way to Ford’s new supercar, according to Mustang Brand Manager Jim Owens. Why not?

It’s Just Too Darn Tricky

Chatting with Owens at Pebble Beach this past weekend, CarBuzz Editor-at-Large Jared Rosenholtz excitedly asked the brand representative about the unique finish, fully expecting to be told that at least one person would get their GTD in this color. After all, Ford recently revealed that a GTD buyer could have their supercar painted in literally any color they can provide a sample of, and if they want to guarantee exclusivity, the Extended Color Palette Lock-Out Option allows the buyer to keep that particular finish to themselves. Surely, then, a color-shifting GTD is written in the stars, right? Wrong – Owens said there will be “no Mystichrome on GTD.”

“We won’t do it again. An owner did it for [Ford] GT. He paid extra to lock out that color. It was a challenge.”

– Jim Owens, Ford Mustang Brand Manager

The customer Owens is referring to is lifelong Blue Oval fanatic Justin Choi, whose 2020 Ford GT was the only such example to get the Mystichrome finish. Both it and the Mustang GTD have Multimatic to thank for production, but although the Canadian company has plenty of experience working on the world’s most advanced machinery, it seems that Ford simply thinks it’s too much trouble. To perfect a color-shifting finish, the preparation has to be obsessive, the paint mixing must be exceptionally precise, ambient temperatures must be stable, the application must be immaculate, and the curing process must be perfectly regulated. Even after all that, refining and polishing the paint may still reveal imperfections, requiring the entire painting process to restart from scratch.

Other Options

The Mustang GTD will be available with exclusive colors of its own, and Carbon Series vehicles will offer the hood, roof, and rear decklid in exposed carbon fiber. This means that the weave of each exposed panel’s fibers must match with those of others, and it’s a very time-consuming and resource-intensive process that looks amazing when done perfectly, but we still can’t help feeling a little disappointed. After all, if RTR can offer Mystichrome paint for a regular Mustang, and Porsche can regularly finish cars in ChromaFlair paint, buyers who are spending Ferrari money should get access to something similar. Even cash-strapped Nissan can make Midnight Purple happen with a GT-R that costs half as much, but sadly, Ford would rather supply paints that can hide imperfections more easily.