Imagine yourself in 1965. You and your significant
other are topping the charts and jet-setting around the world to play in front
of crowds of fans. You're so popular that Ford pulls two new Mustang
convertibles off the line and has them customized just for you. That fantasy
was the reality for Sonny & Cher, and half a century later, their custom
pony cars are coming up for auction.
Created at the dawn of the Mustang's long run, these
drop-tops were fitted with 4.7-liter V8s and three-speed automatic
transmissions before being modified by the legendary George Barris – the “King
of Kustomizers” and Hollywood's favorite car guy.
Both received custom paint jobs – Sonny's in gold,
Cher's in pink – each with 40 layers of lacquer but that was just the start.
The grilles were new, the taillights fitted from the Thunderbird, the door
handles mounted flush, and the wheel arches flared like their new owner's
bell-bottom jeans. Those side panels? Yeah, that's suede – brown on Sonny's,
red on Cher's. And that's before we even climb inside.
Barris fitted each individually with antique leather
and suede with 3-inch fur carpeting. The seats on Sonny's were upholstered in
bobcat fur, Cher's in ermine, with gold and hot pink trim to match their
respective exteriors.
For the feint of heart these are not, but they're
splendid examples of the pop culture of the time. They'll be sold as a pair,
bundled with “an extensive collection of Sonny & Cher memorabilia,” by
Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale this month, where they're sure to make some
collector very nostalgic for a bygone era.
