Craig Jackson tracked it down using Fords registered VIN as opposed to using the Shelby VIN which had been used to track it up until this time in order to track down the vehicle. "Little Red" was long thought to have been crushed but was discovered in early 2018, after missing for over 50 years. First, it was known as the "GT/SC", as a nationally available Sport Coupe, then, after some discussion, developed as the GT/CS. He met with Lee Iaccoca in L.A., and the decision was made to bring the car to Dearborn to develop into a limited edition Mustang. Lee saw this as an opportunity to use the elements of this prototype to market his "California-Only Mustang". It was on display to gauge market response as a possible Shelby lineup Mustang. This was a supercharged 428, C-6 automatic coupe that was dressed up in bright red paint, and a vinyl roof, as a formal, yet high-performance vehicle. Lee Grey attended the Ford Preview event for the new 1968 Fords at the Los Angeles Coliseum in August 1967, where he saw a Shelby GT-500 prototype coupe nicknamed "Little Red". Shelby inspired Little Red 1968 California Special GT/CS - Rear View The objective was to make the Mustangs sold in California unique and to look "custom" made, thus differentiating them from the standard models available elsewhere. Ford dealers had tried promotions like the "1967 Rainbow Colored Mustangs", as well as by adding accessories and options to dress up cars for public view. Lee Grey was the Southern California district sales manager for Ford and he was looking for something unique to spark the sales of Mustangs in Los Angeles. The state of California, alone, was responsible for the sales of 20% of all Mustangs and Thunderbirds in the country, which gave the regional dealers there the clout to ask for and market their own Mustang. This was all in response to the new pony car competition for the upcoming 1968 model year from the Camaro, Firebird, Javelin, and even from Ford's Torino and Mercury Cougar. The marketing theme for this limited edition was "California Made it Happen!", a variation on Mustang's national marketing theme and commercial jingle, "Only Mustang Makes it Happen!" Today, classic car collectors consider these cars to be very desirable. Production ran for only 5.5 months from mid-February 1968 to early August 1968. The hope was for a targeted production run of 5,000 however, only 4,118 were made, including 251 units that were remarketed in Denver, Colorado, as "High Country Special '68". In mid-February 1968, the California Ford Dealers (Ford Dealer Advertising Fund) began to market a factory-built, limited-edition Mustang, called the GT/CS, or "California Special".
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