“Coachbuilt muscle car” really isn’t a thing. If you have enough money to want a full custom body on your vehicle, you’re likely thinking of something expensive and European. Muscle-car customizers generally work with a lower budget (and still impressive results.) Today, Los Angeles dealer-tuner Galpin Motor Sports unveiled its unique venture into that uncharted space with a car it’s calling the Rocket, penned by the man behind the Fisker Karma.
The Galpin-Fisker Rocket starts with a 2015 Ford Mustang GT massaged to 725 hp, then draped in a hand-built, carbon-fiber skin designed by Henrik Fisker. The founder of the failed, eponymous automaker, Fisker had previously penned coachbuilt variants of BMWs, and approached Galpin in August with the design of the Rocket.
The biggest modifications come in the front, where the Galpin-Fisker gets a massive carbon-fiber grille, with the traditional pony galloping across a chrome bar. The interior also gets swaddled in carbon fiber and custom leather, although the legal rules of modern carbuilding don’t allow Galpin to change major pieces such as the headlights, tail lamps and roof shape.
Galpin says it will build as many Rockets as it can sell starting in December, with a price that begins around $100,000 before any extra customization. We’ll soon find out whether enough wealthy muscle car owners want to ride a Mustang with the fanciest saddle around.