Manoli Katakis 
During the SEMA Show, designers from Ford Motor Company recognize the most significant design achievements on the show floor with its Corporate Design Awards. The main requirement is simply that they have to be Ford vehicles, while also making significant contribution to vehicle design and stand apart from all others at the show. And for Best Ford Heritage Vehicle, that award went to the Ringbrothers UNKL – a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 build with incredible detail, and 700 naturally aspirated horsepower.
The namesake of this Mustang Mach 1 pay tribute to the customer’s uncle who inspired a lifelong passion for cars. Its body panels of the UNKL are made from reshaped steel or carbon fiber, depending on the part. Overall, the body gains an inch of width on each side, but still retain a level of modesty compared to what’s under the hood. There we find an insane 8.5L V8 engine built by Jon Kaase, featuring Holley carbs, Flowmaster headers and 44 stainless steel exhaust system. The 520 cubic-inch V8 runs on race gas only, and is good for a maximum of 700 horsepower, and sends the power through a Bowler six-speed manual Tremec gearbox. A QA1 carbon fiber driveshaft linked to a 9-inch John’s Industries rear end with a 3:55 gear set sends the power to the wheels. Meanwhile, the interior is full of race car design cues, from the red toggle switches, to the vidid tachometer mounted just behind the Momo steering wheel.
In true Ringbrothers fashion, the UNKL Ford Mustang Mach 1 wasn’t their only muscle car build that took home a major SEMA Show award. The other car to win big was their VALKYRJA 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, which took home the highly coveted 2019 SEMA Battle of the Builders trophy.
We managed to snap a couple of exclusive photos of this Big Boss Blue Mustang Mach 1, which you can enjoy in the gallery below.
