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Offered for sale is this superb example of an iconic Ford Mustang. It s a 4.0 litre, V6 with the rare 5 speed manual transmission. The S197 model Mustang is a sports coupe in the tradition of the original 60 s Pony cars, and for me that meant it had to be a manual, not an automatic. <br />
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This car was built at the Ford Flat Rock Assembly plant in Michigan on 23rd January 2008. I have a copy of the original window sticker specification sheet showing all the extras fitted to the car when supplied new, although it has been improved since by the previous owner. The car cost $25,430 new (there were over $5,000 worth of factory upgrades on this order) and this Mustang remained in the USA until last summer, when it was imported to the UK.<br />
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The 4.6 litre V8 version is undeniably a bit quicker, but with 210bhp in standard form, the 4.0 V6 more than holds its own on British roads and it s a fabulous car to drive, getting many positive comments almost every time I drive it.<br />
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I bought the car from specialist Mustang importers http://www.s197stang.com. Where they differs from many importers in the UK is that they live in the USA and only buy and import cars they has personally seen and driven. If you re already in the Mustang scene you probably know they have a good reputation for sourcing quality cars and can get most parts as well, should you ever need them.<br />
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I looked at quite a few cars and this one really stood out from the others as a very well looked after car.<br />
My car has been carefully prepared by the previous owner in the US to look like the limited edition California Special GT Mustang. It has the CS/GT grill with twin fog lamps and the CS/GT front and rear bumpers with a colour coded CDC chin spoiler. The Roush bonnet scoop really adds to the mean and purposeful look of the car, and the genuine Ford twin exit GT exhausts with new chrome tailpipes complete the look, and as importantly, the sound of the car. Let s be honest for most of us how the car looks and sounds is half the reason for owning a Mustang!<br />
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The car sailed through the IVA/SVA process and subsequent MOT, allowing it to be UK registered in July 2015. I m the first owner (although the importer registered the car so it shows him as the previous keep on the V5, even though it was only registered to him for about a fortnight!)<br />
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It has an MOT until 2nd June 2016 (with just one minor advisory last time) and has now done 78,500 miles. That really is nothing for these cars, if you look on eBay USA and Craig s List etc., you will regularly see Mustangs for sale with 200,000 miles on them. The US is a big country and these cars were designed to be daily drivers.<br />
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The car had a major service and thorough check over at Mustang experts Modurstang in Oxfordshire on 28th October 2015 and has only done about 800 miles since then. Mike and the guys at Modurstang gave the car a very thorough once over and gave it a clean bill of health. In addition to the usual service items like plugs, oils and filters, it also had new brake pads and new BMR poly-bushed lower control arms which totally transformed the handling.<br />
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Finished in smoke grey / silver, the bodywork on this car is probably as good as you ll find anywhere on a car of this age / mileage. It really does look fabulous. The car now sits on OEM Ford 19 5 spoke alloys with very good 245/45 ZR 19 tyres (from a 2013 Mustang GT). <br />
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Mustangs didn t have the side repeater indicators needed to comply with British MOTs so most ended up with holes drilled in the wings and after-market side repeaters fitted. My car has the rare and factory spec looking door mirrors with the side repeaters built in. These were specifically sourced in the US and imported with the car to comply with UK regulations and to keep the car looking as good as possible. The importer s experience with Mustangs and SVA / IVA testing also meant that the car retained the all red rear lights, which give it a great look.<br />
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I ve also recently fitted HID headlights, which are much better than the standard items for night driving.<br />
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The interior is in fantastic condition. It has full leather electric (and heated) seats and it doesn t look like anyone has ever sat in the back, it s in that good condition. There is no wear at all on handles, switches, knobs, gear lever or steering wheel and it looks like a car with 18,000 on the clock, not 78,000. The car has genuine Ford fitted over-mats in the front.<br />
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It has all the Pony Pack options air con and cruise control, MyColor variable ambient cabin and cluster lighting as well as the Shaker 500 stereo system with 6 CD multi-changer and aux input for your phone or iPod.<br />
The car only came with one key but I ve now had another cut and programmed (not cheap!) so there is a spare.<br />
There are plenty of specialist insurers who will cover these cars on classic car policies and the road tax is 240 per year.<br />
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Car is located in Surrey if you would like to view.<br />
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Call 07799887128 if you would like to know more about the car.<br />
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Date written: 12-Apr-2016
Price: £10750 Or near offer
More about this vehicle on carandclassic.co.uk
ID: 2934
