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Ford built exactly 57 of these R-code Fairlanes in 1966, not for showroom sales, but to satisfy a NASCAR homologation rule requiring a minimum production run. Every one wore the same white-over-black color combination and hid a 427 side-oiler under a stripped-down interior. Only about 25 are believed to survive. Here is the story behind Ford’s rarest mid-size muscle car.
The Ford Fairlane’s name did not come from a marketing meeting — it came from Fair Lane, Henry Ford’s own estate near Dearborn, Michigan. As Ford’s new full-size flagship for 1955, the Fairlane offered six body styles, a factory tinted-plastic roof on the Crown Victoria Skyliner, and an eventual 312-cubic-inch V8 by 1958. Read on to see how this often-overlooked Ford laid groundwork for the performance cars that followed.