Four Engines & Four-Wheel Drive: The Mach IV Mustang

I’ve always thought that 1960s drag racing was basically what drifting and other ‘extreme’ motorsports are today.

Back then it was as much about putting on a show for the fans as it was a competition, and this wild beast found inside the Galpin Auto Sports collection is a perfect example of that idea.

Known as Mach IV, this perfectly restored quarter-miler was originally built by Gary Weckesser back in 1969. At the time, the Funny Car movement was beginning to take off, but Gary had a different idea. Using a custom-built chassis as his base, he set out to create one of the more outrageous cars ever to take to a drag strip.

If one injected 351ci V8 is cool, how about four of them?! That was the setup that Gary used to power the Mach IV; total output around 3,000 horsepower.

But rather than sending all the power to the rear wheels alone, the four engines powered up the front and rear wheels simultaneously. The giant slicks up front provide for a very unusual look.