A Gentleman's Hot Rod

The Hurst Kenne Bell R-code Mustang.

- Eric Geisert

Very few vehicles have been around for more than 50 years in one shape or another that can compare to the Mustang.

The term gentleman driver is not well known outside automobile racing circles, but it is, in fact, one of the oldest phrases associated with the hobby/sport. More than 100 years ago members of affluent families who wanted to race their vehicles (instead of being properly chauffeured around town) basically bought their way into the growing sport by either purchasing race cars outright or having specially-built racers constructed to suit the needs of the track and environment. The practice continues to this day, with privateers who fund their own racing schedule, usually participating on the “under card” of a major race and against other similarly funded competitors. But the gentleman racer’s concept of a made to-order race car reaching the common man didn’t really happen until the 1960s. Although for years folks could order any type of car with as many factory options Detroit could dream up, everything changed with the dawn of the muscle car era. The ability to walk into any of the Big Three’s dealerships and order a big-block–equipped, radio deleted, stripped-down and carpetless rocket ship without even a single hubcap meant anybody could immediately become “the fastest car in the valley,” at least until someone else showed up with the latest factory offering.