GB Boss 5.0 Roadster Is The Ford Mustang Drop-Top Everyone Forgot About

The Ford Mustang you see here appears to be a sixth-generation model with a tailor-made body slapped on top, but what if we told you it's actually a fourth-gen Fox Body that was part of a limited production run? You better believe it because it's true.

We had no idea this model existed until it came across our screen via the FoxbodyFX YouTube channel. It's hard to keep track of the various Mustangs ever made. Ford loves a special edition 'Stang, not to mention all the tuning shops that specialize in making Mustangs better looking and faster.

The car's full name is GB Boss 5.0 Roadster. It was built by Gladney Brothers Motorsport in 2000. The Roadster was inspired by the GB400R racing car the team used in the SCCA Super Production Championship in the early noughties.

According to the owner, who is only identified as Dale, the Gladney Brothers made nine or 10. The car started life as a 5.0 GT convertible, and the unique body panels are made from fiberglass. While it may seem impractical, the vehicle does come with a two-piece hardtop.

If you know your Mustangs, the inspiration is quite apparent. GB tried to emulate the 1969 Mustang Mach 1, and it's arguably a better take on the original design than Ford's own limited production 'Stang, which carried the same badge.

The body is more than just aesthetically pleasing, though. The various intakes at the front are meant to cool the engine, which was upgraded to produce around 370 horsepower. The original small-block V8 only produced 240 hp, meaning GB had to add upgraded brakes and a motorsport suspension. You might also have noticed the slots in the side, used to feed air to the brakes.

Though there are several custom parts, certain interior bits will be familiar to Fox Body owners. We're not entirely convinced by the high-gloss black interior, but the owner says he loves it. It's equipped with body-hugging seats separated by bodywork protruding into the interior.

The Roadster is less practical because the rear seats were ditched, so the rollover protection would have somewhere to go. Whether that massive rear wing provides any downforce is anyone's guess, but we know the car has a set of fat 275 tires at the rear for grip.

What we like most is that the GB Boss 5.0 Roadster predates Ford's attempts at incorporating '60s design elements into the fifth-generation Mustang. The concept for what would eventually become the fifth-gen debuted at the 2003 Detroit Auto Show, which means the Gladney Brothers were ahead of their time.