2015 Galpin Fisker Ford Mustang Rocket: First Drive

Yes, the Galpin Fisker Ford Mustang Rocket has a long name. “We just call it ‘the Rocket’” said Henrik Fisker, who also designed the BMW Z8, Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vantage, and more recently, the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid.

Certainly, “Rocket” is a suitable name for a $109,100 muscle car, but the fact of the matter is that the other named parties have made great contributions, including its builders and tuners, Galpin Auto Sports of Van Nuys, Calif., and of course, Ford itself. We took a brief spin along 17-Mile Drive during Monterey Car Week to see if it’s worth the coin.

“Ford’s engineers and Moray Callum’s design team did an amazing job with the new Mustang,” said Fisker. “So good, in fact, I think the design additions and power upgrades we have made to the car help it play in a higher league, against much more expensive supercars.”

This explains why, unlike the Mercedes-Benz SL-based Tramonto and BMW 6-Series-based Latigo models that Fisker offered late last decade, the Rocket’s modifications do not attempt to disguise the car on which it’s based. For inspiration, he recalled Shelby modified Mustangs in the 1960s—the 1968 GT500 in particular. “They actually made a lot of changes to the body; a different front and a different rear. We went one step further and we made the whole body new, but we still made it look like a Mustang. You can see the themes of the Mustang, but I widened it and made it more aggressive, so the whole car is more muscular.”

The Rocket’s muscular stance is matched by some nifty details. The stock front lighting units were rearranged to mimic the ’68 Shelby GT500. The hexagonal grille is no cheap plastic mesh but rather a perforated panel of matte carbon fiber bisected by a milled aluminum spear — not shiny plastic, but real aluminum — onto which the iconic galloping Mustang ornament is set. There are, of course, several other openings in the car’s bodywork meant to facilitate cooling of the engine bay and/or brakes, too, which, like the rearranged lights, evoke the aforementioned GT500. A tall, ducktail spoiler mitigates any need for a tacked-on trunk spoiler and at various places — including the taillamp surrounds, hood stripes, and the entire lower edge, the body’s carbon fiber panels are left naked. Did we mention all of the Rocket’s bespoke body panels are carbon fiber?

Inside, the cabin typically will remain mostly stock, but our test car’s was fitted with the $21,000 (!) Full Rocket Interior, which fits impossibly soft Tuscan leather to nearly everything you can touch — hand-stitched to ensure a proper fit over the console’s edges and the contoured racing seats — and a suede headliner. (Galpin will do just the seats for $4,500.) Carbon fiber makes another appearance on the Mustang’s dashboard, which is already dripping in metallic and/or chrome switches and knobs in stock form and hence, already has the glitz factor associated with this price point.