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Most special-edition Mustangs announce themselves on the spec sheet: a bigger engine, a stripe kit, a serial number on a dash plaque. The 1967 Ford Mustang Coupe High Country Special 289 live on Bring a Trailer works differently. What makes it special is where it was sold. Ford offered the High Country Special only through Colorado dealers, just 416 were ordered for 1967, and the auction ends Sunday, November 1, at 12:48 p.m. ET with the bid at $13,000 as of this writing.
A Mustang You Could Only Buy in the Rockies
The High Country Special grew out of Ford's Denver sales district. Mustang registries put production at 333 cars for 1966 and 416 for 1967, all built at the San Jose, California, plant and sold through Colorado dealers. The package itself was simple: three paint colors named for Colorado, Aspen Gold, Columbine Blue and Timberline Green, plus brass fender badges showing a mountain skyline and the words High Country Special. Coupes, fastbacks and convertibles were all eligible, and buyers could order any standard Mustang engine, transmission or option on top.
Because the paint was a special order, the paint code on the door data plate was left blank on these cars, which is why documentation matters so much. Ford never spelled out why it created the package, and Enthusiast references speculate it was a regional push to keep sales moving after the car's first-year boom cooled.
The Car
This example is Timberline Green over an Ivy Gold vinyl interior, and a Marti Report included with the listing documents the High Country Special fender badges and rocker-panel moldings. The listing says it was first delivered to Arnold Brothers Ford in Boulder, Colorado, and the dealer badge is still on the rear. Hood vents, splash guards and 14-inch styled steel wheels round out the look.
Under the hood is a 289ci V8 with a Holley carburetor, paired with a three-speed automatic, power steering and power-assisted front disc brakes. The odometer shows 75,000 miles, about 11,000 of which were added by the seller, who bought the car in 2017 from an owner of roughly three decades. Since then the work has included new rear leaf springs in 2020, replacement front upper control arms in 2021, steering components, and a long list of cooling and ignition parts.
The listing is honest about the rough edges. The car was repainted before the current ownership, with the date and details unknown. Some rust is noted around the rear wheel wells and quarter panels, with additional spots in the engine compartment. The left-turn signal does not consistently stay engaged, and the oil-pressure sending unit may need replacement. It comes with a Maryland title carrying an Actual mileage brand, plus service records and spare parts.
A Regional Special With Cousins
Ford ran this kind of regional play more than once. We have written about the 1968 Mustang GT/CS California Special, a dealer-driven package sold only in California. Colorado got its own version of that car for 1968: according to Wikipedia's entry on the California Special, 251 of roughly 4,118 GT/CS Mustangs were remarketed in Denver as the High Country Special. Ford also built plenty of one-year oddities, like the 4,103 green 1990 Mustangs built for a 7-Up giveaway, but few were as narrow in geography as this one.
If you want a different kind of Mustang rarity, we also looked at a 1,033-mile 1968 Mustang coupe that surfaced on Bring a Trailer, which is about as far from a 75,000-mile Colorado survivor as a coupe can get.
Why It Is Worth a Look
A 289 coupe with an automatic and a repaint is not going to impress anyone on paper. But the High Country Special package is the kind of detail that separates one of thousands of ordinary 1967 coupes from one of 416 with a documented Colorado delivery. The badges, the Marti Report and the Boulder dealer history are the whole story, so anyone bidding should study those photos closely and ask the seller about the paint and rust in the comments before the clock runs out on November 1.
Source: Bring a Trailer.
