Fastest Ford Mustang Of Every Generation (1965-Present)

Over the years, we have seen the development of the Mustang in various forms. Everything started with the first generation Mustang back in 1965 and the legendary streak is continuing with the 2024 Ford Mustang. With this all new 2024 Mustang, we have been through 7 generations of the Ford Mustang and would it be too much to ask for the fastest Mustang models of every generation?

Well, here are the 7 fastest Mustang models, one from each generation

1. First Generation –  1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 (1965-1973)
2. Second Generation – 1978 Ford Mustang II King Cobra (1974-1978)
3. Third Generation – 1993 Ford Mustang Cobra (1979-1993)
4. Fourth Generation – 2000 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra R (1994-2004)
5. Fifth Generation – 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Coupe (2005-2014)
6. Sixth Generation – 2022 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 (2015-2023)
7. Seventh Generation 2025 Ford Mustang GTD Coupe (2024-Present)

There was the SVT Cobra R with its limited production and then there was the Boss 429 which became the fastest in the first generation. Meanwhile, the Ford Mustang Rocket was among the models that were not created by Ford but managed to become one of the fastest of all time. Now, without further delay, let’s dive deep into the fastest Mustangs till date-

1. First Generation (1965-1973) – 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429

The 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 is the fastest first generation Mustang to roll out of the factory. The 1969 Ford Mustang Mach I and 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 did their best as they could but the victory was destined for the 1969 Boss 429 which had a top speed of 118 MPH. This might not be a lot in today’s standard, but half a century ago, it was insanely fast for a car made by Ford! As reported, only 1359 units of the Mustang Boss 429 were made, making it one of the most exclusive Mustangs to own.

The 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 was priced around the $5,000 range back in the day, and it came with a 7.0L V8 engine mated to a 4-speed manual transmission. With all this setup, The Mustang Boss 429 churned out 375 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque, which helped it do 0-60 in just 7.1 seconds!

2. Second Generation (1974-1978) – 1978 Ford Mustang II King Cobra

While the second-generation Mustang has been heavily criticized by many automobile magazines, there was one model that managed to garner some praise, and it was the 1978 Ford Mustang II King Cobra. The main reason why the second generation Mustang was significantly slower than it’s predecessor is that US was hit by a massive Oil Crisis in the 1970s and 1980s, and for that everyone wanted an economical car.

These economical cars had very little amount of horses to drive them, and were widely known as “Econoboxes”. Same reason why the 1978 King Cobra II Mustang had a 4.9-liter V8 but only made 139 horses! 

This made the acceleration quite slow, more than two-seconds slower than the last Mustang Boss 429, however, it managed to achieve a slightly higher top speed of 132 mph.

The 1978 Ford Mustang II King Cobra was priced at $6,350 back in it’s era, although, in some recent auctions, there has been examples of these selling for around $18,000. The 4.9-liter V8 motor under the hood of the 1978 Mustang King Cobra II made a mere 139 horses, and 250 lb-ft of torque, pushing it to 60 from a standstill in about 9.8 seconds.

3. Third Generation (1979-1993) – 1993 Ford Mustang Cobra

The 1993 Ford Mustang Cobra is not to be confused with the limited-edition SVT Cobra R. After all, the latter was limited to only 107 units. That said, the 1993 Mustang Cobra is the title of the fastest car of its generation as it reached a top speed of 140 MPH. This particular Mustang is also among the top Mustangs from the ’90s that deserve more attention. Check out the specs of the 1993 Ford Mustang Cobra below-

The 1993 Ford Mustang Cobra had a base price of $19,990 back in the days. Ford blessed this foxbody Mustang Cobra with a a 4.9L V8 engine producing 235 horsepower and 285 lb-ft of torque. The 1993 Cobra Mustang did 0-60 in 5.9 seconds and coveted a quarter-mile distance in 14.3 seconds.

4. Fourth Generation – SN95 (1994-2004) – 2000 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra R

The 1994 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra and the 1995 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R were both parts of the 4th generation Mustang. With the Cobra tag attached to their names, both were trying their hardest to show the classic American Muscle Car heritage.

However, in the end, it was the 2000 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra R that out-ran them with a crazy top speed of 170 MPH, while the regular versions of the fourth generation Mustangs had top speeds around 140 to 150 MPH.

The 2000 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra R was limited to only 300 examples making it extremely exclusive for classic car collectors. Each one was sold with a base price of $55,845, however, the highest used car sale happened with a bid of $715,000. 

The 2000 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra R was powered by a 5.4-liter V8 motor which produced 385 horsepower and 385 lb-ft of torque. This resulted a 0-60 time of just 4.4 seconds and a top speed of 170 mph.

5. Fifth Generation – S197 (2005-2014) – 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Coupe

The 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 was more powerful than the 2007 Shelby GT500 which had a maximum speed of 155 MPH. Meanwhile, the 2013 Mustang Shelby GT500 coupe had a top speed of 190 MPH. However, some testers even claimed that they achieved a top speed close to 200 MPH. Regardless of the final figures, there is no doubt that the 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Coupe is the fastest Mustang in the 5th generation.

The 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 had a 5.8L Supercharged V8 engine attached to a 6-speed manual transmission. It produced 662 horsepower and 631 lb-ft of torque. With these figures, the 2013 Shelby GT500 did 0-60 in 3.5 seconds. That said, the coupe had a base price of $54,995 while the convertible would cost $59,200.

6. Sixth Generation – S550 (2015-2023) – 2022 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

The 6th generation Mustang had several hood-thumping and road-cracking models. The Ford Shelby GT350 from 2020 is one such example. However, the true leader of this generation is the 2022 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Coupe, which is the most powerful Mustang till date, with over 750 horsepower!

With this amount of power, the 2022 GT500 was able to do 0-60 in just 3.4 seconds while the top speed was limited to.

The 2022 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 was only offered in coupe body and came with a starting price of $80,795. The 2022 Shelby GT500 packed a 5.2-liter supercharged V8 engine producing 729 horsepower and 625 lb-ft of torque, and all the power was sent to the rear wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

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7. Seventh Generation S650 (2024-Present) – 2025 Ford Mustang GTD Coupe

The 2024 model year marked the start of the 7th generation Mustang. We saw different models that raised the market heat. There was the new Dark Horse and then we saw the Dark Horse R. However, when the 2025 Mustang GTD was revealed, every muscle car fan was surprised by the estimated 800 horsepower and an approximate $300,000 MSRP!

Ford didn’t disclose the exact performance figures, however, it has declared that it intends to conquer the Nürburgring track in less than 7 minutes. This will easily crown it as the fastest Mustang ever and so far the quickest one in the running generation.

• Is there a Mustang that can go over 200 MPH?

The 2025 Mustang GTD is the only Mustang that has performance hardware that can push it beyond 200 MPH. After all, it is the most powerful and fastest Mustang ever produced.

• Which is the slowest Mustang?

The second-generation Mustang II was the slowest Mustang. Furthermore, in our list, it is the 1978 Ford Mustang II King Cobra that has the lowest top speed.

• What is the most expensive Mustang?

The most expensive Mustang ever sold was the 1965 Shelby GT350R Prototype which was sold for $3.85 million, in an auction.