ORIGINALITY
’90 LIMITED EDITION — PART 1
B
ack in the ’90s I had the privilege of interviewing Joe Laura, planner
on the Mustang team, about the ’90 Limited Edition Mustang
and the ’92-’93 Feature Cars. This information is based on that
interview.
The year 1990 was the twelfth year of production for the Fox-body
Mustang. In 1989 the LX 5.0 Sport became a series. Because it was
such a popular option, it was decided that a ’90 Limited Edition LX 5.0
convertible series would be the first Limited Edition Mustang.
In the design center, the sketches began and the clay model was buil t.
Once the clay model was approved, the design center would then build
a prototype. Donald Peterson, chief executive officer at Ford Motor
Company, wanted a special, unique Mustang built for himself, so the
design center built him the first ’90 Limited Edition prototype. The
exterior was Emerald Green, and the interior was all leather, including
the seats, dash, door panels, and console. The seats were used, from an
’89 Mustang, and had the large headrests.
Peterson liked the car so much that he passed it around to Ford
executives to drive. Joe Laura was one of them. As Laura drove the
prototype, people stopped him in the road and asked where could they
get this Mustang, was it going to come out, and when. At one point, he
was almost run off the road by someone trying to get a look at the car.
Soon after that, Laura and the Mustang team decided the car needed to
be put into production. As that time neared, some of the interior leather
components were removed, with the exception of the seats, because the
cost had to be affordable.
by Terry McCoy
The design center chose Emerald Green Clearcoat Metallic for the
exterior. How did they pick the color? They went to shows, looked
at trends and futuristic colors, met with paint companies, looked at
samples, etc. The design center has a color section. Emerald Green
Clearcoat Metallic was an approved color. It was added to the Mustang
line for two additional years.
The ’90 Limited Edition was not called a “Feature Car” during its
development and production. Later, it was referred to as a “7-Up Car,”
a “25th Anniversary,” and a “Feature Car.”
The design center and Laura’s team were responsible for the
development of the black-and-white dash, the painted side
mouldings and mirrors, and using the GT turbine wheels for more
of a performance look. To help ease the heat of the summer months,
white was picked for the interior and convertible top.
There were several discussions within Ford about calling the ’90
Limited Edition LX 5.0 a “25th Anniversary Edition.” All Mustangs
produced between April 1989 and May 1990, including the Limited
Edition, had the 25-year pony emblem.
Next month, we’ll focus on Part 2 of the ’90 Limited Edition,
including production figures, manual-versus-auto breakdown,
production dates, 7-Up Bottling Company involvement along with
the NCAA College Championship Playoff Contest, as well as photos
of 7-Up memorabilia that pertained to the car, detailed pictures of the
dealer planning and promotional guide, how the car could be ordered,
and available options that could be added or deleted. Stay tuned.
Here’s an 80-mile example of a ’90 Limited
Edition LX 5.0 convertible equipped with a
five-speed manual transmission.
14 FOXMustangMagazine.com