Ford Racing has built a 1966 Mustang fastback called the R125 to mark 125 years since Henry Ford won his first race. The Ford Racing R125 Mustang made its debut on the brand’s 125th anniversary, and Ford is showing it at SEMA 2026. Under the black paint sits a modern crate V8 and a five-speed manual, all from the Ford Racing parts catalog.
The car is a rolling advertisement for those parts. Even so, the story behind the name goes back much further than the Mustang. It starts on a Michigan horse track in 1901, with a novice driver and a car he had built himself.
Here is what Ford put into the R125, how it looks and why the 1901 race still matters to the company.
What Ford built for the Ford Racing R125 Mustang
The base is a heritage-inspired 1966 Mustang fastback. According to Ford’s own announcement on its From the Road site, the engine is a 347-cubic-inch crate V8 rated at 360 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. It uses a Ford Racing Boss block, aluminum cylinder heads and Edelbrock Pro-Flo electronic fuel injection.
Power goes through a Tremec TKX-600 five-speed manual. Ford says that gearbox shifts more smoothly and holds up better than the Tremec TKO it replaces in the catalog. On top of the engine sit two-piece Ford Racing valve covers. Their tops swap out, the seals are captured O-rings and the spark plug wire looms are built in, a design Ford describes as patented.
The post is signed by Matthew Simpson, executive director of Ford Customization. He credits “a broad team of build and product partners” but does not name a single builder. Likewise, Ford gives no details on the suspension, brakes or interior.
How the R125 looks
The look comes from period race cars rather than from a 1966 showroom. Carscoops’ first look at the R125 describes a black car wearing a gold-and-red motorsport livery. A bright red stripe crosses the tail, and gold Ford Racing lettering runs across the back.
On the doors, gold roundels carry an “R125 Ford Racing” logo. The wheels are gold as well. Inside, Ford has not released full cabin photos, but one image shows a gold roll cage. Instead of a rear seat, there is a brown leather suitcase.
Carscoops also points out what the build does not do. It doesn’t chase hypercar numbers. Instead, it sticks to a naturally aspirated V8 and a manual gearbox. In our view, that restraint suits a car meant to sell parts that ordinary restorers can actually buy and bolt on.
One detail differs between the two reports. Ford lists the engine at 347 cubic inches, while Carscoops calls it a 5.7-liter V8. We have used Ford’s figure, since the parts come from Ford’s own catalog.
The 1901 race behind the name
The R125 name points to October 10, 1901. That day, Henry Ford raced a car he called Sweepstakes in a 10-mile event at a horse track in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. His opponent was Alexander Winton, an established carmaker and, according to The Henry Ford museum’s record for the Sweepstakes, the best-known race driver in the country.
Sweepstakes was Henry Ford’s first race car. He built it in Detroit from a design by Oliver Barthel, with help from Edward “Spider” Huff and others. Its two-cylinder, horizontally opposed engine had a 7-inch bore and a 7-inch stroke. That works out to roughly 538 cubic inches, and the museum estimates it made 26 horsepower at 900 rpm.
Winton had the faster car and more experience. Early on, Ford trailed him. Then Winton’s car developed engine trouble, and Ford passed him on the main straight to win.
That upset changed Ford’s prospects. According to the museum, the win helped him attract investors for the Henry Ford Company. He left that firm in 1902, and in 1903 he formed the Ford Motor Company. That is why Carscoops notes that Ford Racing, counted from 1901, is two years older than the company itself.
Why Ford Racing is marking 125 years
The anniversary has run through Ford’s whole 2026 season. In November 2025, Ford Racing global director Mark Rushbrook announced the brand’s first season launch at Michigan Central Station in Detroit, set for January 15, 2026. In that post, he tied the year to “125 years of Ford Racing history.” The season also marks Ford’s return to Formula 1 with Red Bull after a 22-year absence.
Later, in July, Ford held a two-day Ford Racing Thrill Experience before the Goodwood Festival of Speed to mark the same milestone. The Ford Racing R125 Mustang now carries the theme to SEMA. In Simpson’s words on Ford’s post, “Racing is in our DNA.”
Ford says the parts on the car are sold through Ford Racing Parts, although it has not listed prices. If you want to see where the story started, the Sweepstakes itself sits in the Driven to Win: Racing in America exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. Ford bought the car back in the 1930s and had a new body built, because a fire had damaged the original.
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