I remember seeing this silly rendering a few years ago of a Mustang GT on lifted, massive off-road tires. I never could get that image out of my head.
And it seems like Ford CEO Jim Farley can’t either.
Once more (I think it’s been rumored about 23092038 times by now), Ford is hinting at an off-roading Mustang. According to Automotive News, the Mustang Baja is in the works. The automaker has apparently shown off the off-road Mustang.
This seems to be on-trend for Ford, so I’m one to believe it. The Blue Oval recently revealed the Mustang Dark Horse SC convertible. It just keeps making all different Mustang variations, even the EV SUV we won’t speak of (which has a Rally variant). Oh, there’s also the four-door Mustang allegedly in the works.
Ford is clearly not afraid to take the Mustang in all different directions. Makes sense, since it’s the best-selling sports car of 2026. By a lot.
What do we know about the off-road Mustang?
Unforutnately, not much.
This is honestly not new “news.” There have been rumors of an off-road Mustang for years. In 2023, automotive sites believed that the Ford Mustang Raptor was coming in 2026. This didn’t happen, unfortunately.
Despite years of rumors and discussion about the off-road Mustang, Ford hasn’t revealed anything. Recently, we got Farley saying that the automaker wants to “democratize the rally car.” Is this a hint at the Mustang Baja’s existence and design?
We’re grasping at straws here. We don’t even know if the name “Mustang Baja” is real.
The craziest Mustang variants yet
The off-roading Mustang Baja may just be a fever dream. We could all be collectively fantasizing about this thing. There’s been no proof beyond claims that Ford has shown this vehicle to some dealerships.
However, there are some crazy Mustang variants that were already explored in the past.
Mustang Mach-E
When Ford unveiled the Mach-E in 2019, plenty of longtime fans were caught off guard. It’s a battery-electric crossover SUV, not a two-door coupe, and it doesn’t share a platform with the traditional Mustang.
Ford leaned on the name anyway, betting that the recognition would help an EV stand out in a crowded market. The gamble paid off commercially, but it remains one of the most debated uses of the Mustang badge in the car’s history.
Boss 429
Built in 1969 and 1970, the Boss 429 exists because NASCAR rules required Ford to sell a street version of its 429 cubic-inch “semi-hemi” engine to the public. The engine bay wasn’t designed for a block that large, so Ford had Kar Kraft modify each car by hand to make it fit.
Fewer than 1,400 were built, and today they’re among the most sought-after Mustangs from the muscle car era.
McLaren M81
In the early 1980s, McLaren partnered with Ford to build a small run of turbocharged Fox-body Mustangs under the McLaren Mustang M81 name. The cars featured a reworked turbo four-cylinder, wide-body fenders, and a price tag that rivaled far more exotic machinery.
Only a handful were made, and the project never became the volume seller Ford hoped for.
“Shorty”
Before the Mustang even launched in 1964, designer Vince Gardner took a pre-production convertible and cut it down into a short-wheelbase, fixed-head coupe. Known today as the “Shorty,” it toured the country as part of Ford’s Custom Car Caravan.
It’s a strange footnote in the Mustang’s origin story, built and reshaped before the car it’s based on had even reached showrooms.
Mustang E
Decades before the Mach-E made “efficiency” part of the Mustang conversation, Ford quietly built the 1969 Mustang E. It paired a low-compression inline-six with a tall rear axle ratio, all aimed at squeezing out better fuel economy rather than performance.
Very few were made, and it stands as one of the strangest departures from the muscle car formula the Mustang was built on.
