RINGBROTHERS’ MUSTANG RESTOMOD: A MODERN TAKE ON A CLASSIC ICON

Meet the classic car that’s not quite all it seems. Because this is the Ringbrothers Caged, a 1964 Ford Mustang that’s been brought into the 21st century through a raft of high-performance and bespoke upgrades. As ever with a restomod, the idea is simple: keeping the classic look but with thoroughly modern underpinnings. In fact, barely anything is shared with the original Mustang donor car. So meticulous is Ringbrothers’ process, the only original factory features left are the Mustang’s centre wheel caps. Everything else is completely new. So detailed was the build, it took the Ringbrothers more than 4,200 hours to create it from scratch.

Its CAD-designed, hand-crafted body was stretched by an inch. Then some of its lines were sharpened for a more aggressive yet subtle look. Finished in a “Burgundy Brave” livery, the build also saw all of its stainless steel and chrome trim sprayed in titanium. Finishing off the styling is a bespoke set of 18-inch EVOD Industries wheels, inspired by the Mustang’s original rally wheels. As well as this, the team created a lot of components themselves, using 3D printing to make bespoke taillight bezels, a custom fuel filler cap, a unique running horse emblem, and a new grille that’s set two-inches further back than it is in an original Mustang.

Behind the grille sits the heart of the beast, a 5.0-litre Coyote V8 by Ford Performance, mated to a Ford 10-speed automatic gearbox. New Baer brakes and Penske Racing Shocks RS Edition coilovers, and independent rear suspension, ensure the Caged handles as well as it looks.

Lubrication for all these parts comes from Motul. Motul 300V, which is used in the engine, for instance, has been tried and tested continuously for 50 years and has been proven to offer the perfect balance between performance and reliability. As Mike Ring, one of the co-founders of Ringbrothers, said: “We use the best products and the best parts. We learned a long time ago what not to use. A lot of the engines we build for these cars are like $30,000, $40,000 or $50,000 motors, and we only want the best oil you can put in them.”

His brother Jim added: “We're proud of the relationship [with Motul]. We did some badging on our cars as we want people to know that we're associated with Motul. It seems like Motul is really trying to push hard in the United States and we're really starting to see that, so to be in at the ground level, we are really proud that they would think of us. I know our engine builders are really happy with Motul’s products, too.”

Ringbrothers was founded in 2011 by Jim and Mike Ring. Since then, they have gone on to become one of the world’s leading custom car shops. As well as unique projects such as Caged, they sell parts and accessories for people’s cars and have partnered with Motul as its official lubricant partner.