The 1968 Mustang sharpened the 1967 redesign with detail styling changes, new safety content, the 302 small-block, the mid-year 428 Cobra Jet, the California Special, and Bullitt movie immortality.
1968 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500Fastback / Shelby GT500
Shelby GT500 fastback cues add a high-performance 1968 reference without repeating the yellow hardtop photos.
Photo: sv1ambo · Source · CC BY 2.0Image rights & changes
Auto-oriented, resized, and metadata removed for web display.
1968 FORD MUSTANG 289Hardtop
Exterior trim, body proportions, and marker-light details show the 1968 Mustang's model-year look.
Photo: Alf van Beem · Source · CC0Image rights & changes
Auto-oriented, resized, metadata removed, and visible license plates blurred.
Yellow 1968 Ford MustangHardtop
Exterior trim, body proportions, and marker-light details show the 1968 Mustang's model-year look.
Photo: Alf van Beem · Source · CC0Image rights & changes
Auto-oriented, resized, metadata removed, and visible license plates blurred.
Overview
1968 styling changes included revised side ornamentation and yearly trim updates while retaining the 1967 body shell.
The 1968 model year brought three-point lap-and-shoulder belts into Mustang production during the model year.
The mid-year R-code 428 Cobra Jet created one of the most important factory performance Mustangs of the first generation.
Production Breakout
Model / Body Style
Units
Type
Hardtop
249,447
Body / trim
Fastback
42,581
Body / trim
Convertible
25,376
Body / trim
California Special GT/CS
3,867
Special edition
High Country Special
251
Special edition
Shelby GT350
Disputed: 1,657 / 1,457
Special edition
Shelby GT500
Disputed: 1,542 / 1,422
Special edition
Shelby GT500KR
Disputed: 1,251 / 1,571
Special edition
Engines & Power
Code
Engine
Induction
HP
Torque
Availability
T
200 cid Thriftpower inline-six
1-barrel
120
190
Standard six-cylinder engine
C
289 cid Windsor small-block V8
2-barrel
195
288
MustangSpecs reports the 289 was fully replaced by the 302 by December 1967, so this engine's availability was limited to the early part of the model year.
Carryover base V8 during the 1968 engine transition
F
302 cid Windsor small-block V8
2-barrel
210
310
302 two-barrel V8
J
302 cid Windsor small-block V8
4-barrel
230
310
302 four-barrel performance small-block; replaced the 289 Challenger Special
X
390 cid FE big-block V8
2-barrel
280
427
390 two-barrel big-block
S
390 cid FE GT big-block V8
4-barrel
325
427
390 GT four-barrel big-block
R
428 cid Cobra Jet V8
4-barrel
335
440
MustangSpecs describes the official 335-hp rating as widely regarded as understated relative to the engine's actual output; MustangCarFacts preserves the official rating rather than publishing an unofficial higher figure.
Mid-year Ram Air Cobra Jet performance option
Specifications
MustangSpecs reports 183.6-inch overall body length, 70.9-inch width, 51.6-inch height, and a 108.0-inch wheelbase.
Counts distinguish verified production records, attributed reports, disputed figures, announced limits, and figures that do not survive in available records.
Option or package
Ford code
Market
Availability
Units
Count status
GT Equipment Group
Performance-and-appearance group combining GT identification with braking, handling, lighting, and exhaust equipment.
—
United States
Regular-production option available with V8 engines.
Available from source
Count-bearing source needed
Interior Decor Group
Upgraded interior trim with woodgrain panels and door pull handles.
Decode the VIN and door data plate together. The VIN identifies the model year, plant, body, engine, and serial sequence; the data plate adds paint, trim, scheduled build date, DSO, axle, and transmission codes.
For Mach 1, Boss, Shelby, Grande, GT/CS, Sprint, or regional-special claims, compare the door tag to a Marti report, registry entry, buck/build documentation, and package hardware such as suspension, stripes, spoilers, scoops, wheels, and interior trim.
California Special GT/CS and High Country Special authenticity should be confirmed against the CaliforniaSpecial.com registry in addition to a Marti report, since VIN adjacency or styling cues alone do not establish either identity.
Special & Tuner Models
California Special GT/CS
Production
3,867 built CaliforniaSpecial.com's registry states 3,867 GT/CS cars produced (confirmed by Paul Newitt through Kevin Marti using Ford records) and separately states the Marti report total of 4,118 includes the 251 High Country Special cars (see High Country Special, below). California Special's own count is 3,867, not the combined 4,118.
Identity
A factory-built Western-region hardtop special with Shelby-inspired exterior pieces and GT/CS identification, built only at the San Jose plant.
Body / basis
Hardtop/coupe-based special or trim; coupes only, no convertibles or fastbacks.
Distinctive equipment
A factory-built Western-region hardtop special with Shelby-inspired exterior pieces and GT/CS identification.
Why it matters
Regional, commemorative, or event-linked Mustang that collectors identify by unique trim and story.
High Country Special
Production
251 built CaliforniaSpecial.com's registry states 251 '68 HCS cars produced (confirmed by Bob Teets through Kevin Marti using Ford records), noting that previous promotional literature stated 250. Combined with the 3,867 California Special GT/CS count, this reconciles exactly with the widely reported 4,118 combined Marti total.
Identity
Colorado-market companion to the California Special for 1968, built as a hardtop-only regional special and remarketed for Rocky Mountain-region dealers.
Body / basis
Hardtop/coupe-based special or trim.
Distinctive equipment
Colorado-market companion to the California Special for 1968, built as a hardtop-only regional special.
Why it matters
Regional, commemorative, or event-linked Mustang that collectors identify by unique trim and story.
Reported: 1,457TheCoralSnake.com, crediting Steve Wolaniuk, Tim Lea, Vinny Liska, and Kevin Marti
Reported 1968 Shelby GT350 production (404 convertible + 1,053 fastback, including 1 convertible and 224 fastbacks allocated to Hertz). States these figures come from Ford records and that SAAC has amended previously published numbers.
Two named sources agree on the 4,450-unit overall 1968 Shelby total and on this model's 404-unit convertible count, but disagree on the fastback split (1,253 vs. 1,053), giving conflicting model totals of 1,657 and 1,457. Neither is promoted as settled.
Identity
1968 Shelby GT350 production combined fastback and convertible body styles with the 302-based Shelby small-block package.
Body / basis
Fastback-based performance or appearance model.
Distinctive equipment
1968 Shelby GT350 production combined fastback and convertible body styles with the 302-based Shelby small-block package.
Why it matters
Shelby/SVT association makes it central to Mustang performance history and collector interest.
Reported: 1,422TheCoralSnake.com, crediting Steve Wolaniuk, Tim Lea, Vinny Liska, and Kevin Marti
Reported 1968 Shelby GT500 production (402 convertible + 1,020 fastback, including 1 convertible and 1 fastback allocated to Hertz). States these figures come from Ford records and that SAAC has amended previously published numbers.
Two named sources agree on the 4,450-unit overall 1968 Shelby total and on this model's 402-unit convertible count, but disagree on the fastback split (1,140 vs. 1,020), giving conflicting model totals of 1,542 and 1,422. Neither is promoted as settled.
Identity
Early 1968 Shelby GT500s used 428 Police Interceptor power before the Cobra Jet-based GT500KR arrived.
Body / basis
Shelby/SVT-backed performance variant. Authenticate with serialized paperwork and original equipment.
Engine
428 Police Interceptor
Distinctive equipment
Early 1968 Shelby GT500s used 428 Police Interceptor power before the Cobra Jet-based GT500KR arrived.
Why it matters
Shelby/SVT association makes it central to Mustang performance history and collector interest.
Shelby GT500KR
Production
Reported: 1,251TheShelbyCars.com
Reported 1968 Shelby GT500KR production (318 convertible + 933 fastback). Conflicts with TheCoralSnake.com's figures on both body styles, an unusual pattern versus GT350/GT500 where only the fastback split differs.
Reported: 1,571TheCoralSnake.com, crediting Steve Wolaniuk, Tim Lea, Vinny Liska, and Kevin Marti
Reported 1968 Shelby GT500KR production (518 convertible + 1,053 fastback, including 1 convertible allocated to Hertz). States these figures come from Ford records and that SAAC has amended previously published numbers.
Two named sources agree on the 4,450-unit overall 1968 Shelby total, but disagree on both the convertible and fastback splits for this model (TheShelbyCars.com: 318 convertible/933 fastback; TheCoralSnake.com: 518 convertible/1,053 fastback), giving conflicting model totals of 1,251 and 1,571. GT500KRs were built exclusively in the final three months of the model year (May-July 1968).
Identity
The King of the Road combined Shelby identity with the 428 Cobra Jet and became a headline 1968 performance model.
Body / basis
Shelby/SVT-backed performance variant. Authenticate with serialized paperwork and original equipment.
Engine
Cobra Jet
Distinctive equipment
The King of the Road combined Shelby identity with the 428 Cobra Jet and became a headline 1968 performance model.
Why it matters
Shelby/SVT association makes it central to Mustang performance history and collector interest.
Highland Green became forever linked to 1968 Mustang fastbacks through the Bullitt movie car.
1968 paint, interior, DSO, axle, and transmission codes live on the door data plate; rare colors, two-tone treatments, Mach 1/Boss/Shelby striping, and special-order paint are best verified with a Marti report or registry documentation.
Three-speed manual, four-speed manual, and automatic transmissions remained available, with heavy-duty combinations tied to the big-block and Cobra Jet cars.
Steve McQueen's modified 1968 Mustang GT fastback in Bullitt gave the model year one of the most famous screen appearances in American car history.
The Cobra Jet's official 335 hp rating is widely treated by enthusiasts as conservative because the engine was built for serious street and drag-strip performance.
First-generation Mustang changes make more sense against the original brief: affordable style, huge personalization, and a platform Ford could build in volume.
The 428 Cobra Jet's mid-year arrival gave drag racers a factory big-block Mustang that was much more serious than the printed horsepower number suggested.
The California Special's Shelby-like decklid, quarter extensions, side scoops, striping, and Thunderbird-style taillamps make it one of the easiest 1968 hardtops to spot.
Whether a 427-cid FE V8 ever reached actual 1968 Mustang production, versus only appearing in early-model-year catalog copy or only in the 1968 Mercury Cougar, is an unresolved enthusiast dispute; MustangCarFacts does not publish a 427 engine offering pending resolution.
Owner Finds
As an Amazon Associate MustangCarFacts.com earns from qualifying purchases. These links open Amazon searches, so verify fitment, licensing, seller, price, and availability before buying.
Amazon search
Year-Correct Floor Mats
A tidy first upgrade for a driver-quality car: look for well-reviewed, properly fitting mats with licensed Mustang branding and heel-pad durability.
