This Off-Road Ford Mustang Is A Tribute To A Forgotten Movie Car

Some cars from cinema transcend the films they star in to become legends in their own right. Some, though, end up pretty quickly forgotten, like the off-road-modified classic Ford Mustang from The Thomas Crown Affair.

No, not the super-stylish 1968 original with Steve McQueen, but the much less well-remembered 1999 remake starring turn-of-the-century Bond, Pierce Brosnan (both films have an identical 69 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though. Funny how these things work out).

Anyway, while in the original McQueen’s Thomas Crown cut about in a chopped-down Meyers Manx beach buggy, Brosnan’s version of the character drove a 1968 Ford Mustang that had been modified with off-road suspension, big tyres and many spotlights. For some reason.

All of this is a long-winded way of introducing this. Coming from German tuning company Loder1899, it’s called the Thomas Crown Mustang and is essentially a modern reinterpretation of that forgotten hero car of the silver screen.

It’s based on the modern seventh-gen Mustang. Loder1899 doesn’t exactly specify which one, but does tag it with #ShelbyGT350 on its social posts. If it is theoretically based on the new GT350, that means a whacking great supercharger and 810bhp. Yikes. The car in these renderings is pretty clearly a Dark Horse, though – we can see the badges featuring the angry equine on the wings.

Otherwise, it gets the same suite of mods as the movie car, with flared arches, knobbly tyres, long-travel suspension, and a weird roll bar thing on which is mounted enough lighting to illuminate a Champions League final.

It comes at an interesting time, because rumours are swelling that Ford itself could introduce an off-road ready version of the Mustang, in the image of cars like the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato and Porsche 911 Dakar. Loder1899’s is just a concept for now, but the company says that it’ll build it if it gets enough interest. Basically, if you want to pay tribute to the most famous car driven on screen by Pierce Brosnan that isn’t an Aston Martin or a BMW, get emailing.