1968 Mercury Cyclone GT 500

The 1968 Mercury Cyclone GT 500 is likely one of the catalyst that led to the creation of the Spoiler/Spoiler II. While doing some additional research on the Spoilers I came across an article in one of the Ford Mercury Speedway newsletters that referenced the GT 500s. I have provided that snippet here as further documentation on these cars and the role they played in the creation of the Aero Cars.

It is a simple “win on Sunday; sell on Monday” philosophy that leads to better race cars and more connections between the race car and the street version. As we approach the 2013 NASCAR season with the Daytona 500 I feel it is time to look back at some of what makes our cars so rare and great. The portion of the article below is from an early 1980s newsletter from the Speedway Club.

The last paragraph is what is important. It states that the GT 500 was released after Cale’s win at the 1968 Daytona 500. That is the connection many of us have been looking for. The build date on most GT 500s is either March or May of 1968 and the VINs appear to be closely grouped together. Some are also called simply “500″ while others are ”GT 500″. At this time I believe the early cars were called 500s and the later ones GT 500 but I have no proof of that. This difference may also have something to do with the engine options and when the 428 CJ engine became available. The research goes on.

We will bring you more from this entire article in the next week or two.