Facts
-
Year of manufacture
1985 -
Chassis
Roush 009 -
Vehicle Type
Trans-AM / IMSA GTO competition car -
Engine
Ford V8 -
Power Output
600 hp approx. -
Gearbox
Manual
Black paintwork, gold stripes and, underneath, an American racing car that has nothing in common with a normal road-going Mustang apart from its exterior shape: the John Player Special Mustang combines the elegant colour scheme of European motorsport with the technology of an out-and-out US racing car.
ChromeCars lists the vehicle as a 1985 Roush Mustang with chassis number 009. This number does not reference a show car, but a tubular-frame racing car with a long history on the American Trans-Am and IMSA circuits.
The vehicle
From a distance, the silhouette of a Fox Body Mustang is recognisable, but beneath the bodywork of this particular automobile, a dedicated racing car with a tubular frame, V8 engine and purely functional technology is to be found – not some sort of converted road car.
The historical profile for Chassis 009 mentions a Ford V8 with a displacement of around 5.1 litres and approximately 600 horsepower. ChromeCars have confirmed that this specific car has the V8, the manual gearbox and the 009 chassis number. The Mustang was not built for comfort on the road – its home was the race track.
The motor racing context
John Player Special became famous primarily for its black-and-gold Lotus racing cars. From 1972 onwards, the livery became one of the most striking designs in Formula 1 history. The Roush Mustang brings this European-inspired aesthetic to an American V8 racing car. As a result, it is not the Mustang that takes centre stage, but rather its paint job. The black and gold give the beefy racing car an unusual elegance – and make it instantly recognisable as a John Player Special, even without a brand name being visible.
Fun fact
Chassis 009 is associated with a particularly illustrious set of drivers. The car’s historical profile cites Ricky Rudd, Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader and Bill Elliott as having contested the Daytona 24-hour race in it. And the official results for the 1986 race do indeed confirm this line-up for a Roush Mustang.
Four drivers, who were best known for their NASCAR careers, shared an out-and-out street circuit racing car. However, the Mustang’s race did not end at the finish line, as it was forced to retire following a crash.
The story behind the car
In the case of a tubular-frame racing car, the year of manufacture is not always as obvious as with a series production vehicle. The bodywork, engines, aerodynamics and sponsor liveries may have been changed several times during its active career, while the actual chassis remained the same. For this reason, there is still some uncertainty regarding Chassis 009.
ChromeCars lists the Mustang as a 1985 model. An older profile, however, identifies the same chassis number as a 1989 IMSA/Trans-Am Mustang and links it both to the Daytona engagement and to later races driven by Scott Pruett. From 2000 onwards, Lauren Fix is said to have used the chassis in historic motorsport. This apparent contradiction does not necessarily mean that either piece of information is incorrect, since it is more likely that the car underwent development across multiple racing seasons and build stages.
The legend
The nickname ‘Christine’ crops up time and again in connection with Chassis 009. The Mustang was supposedly given this name because it was involved in several accidents, was rebuilt and then returned to the race track. Accounts differ as to who coined the name: some attribute it to Scott Pruett, others to the Finnish driver Robert Lappalainen. In any case, the ‘Christine’ legend fits a racing car whose career was characterised by a succession of different bodywork configurations, drivers and race outings.