Zimmer Golden Spirit Is A Gatsby-Approved Mustang-Based Tire Slaying Machine
Zimmer Golden Spirit is a modern roaring 20s Wonder with Coyote Power and questionable yet oddly enticing design cues.
Right when you thought a wind-powered Foxbody was the weirdest Mustang modification you’d see in 2022, this curveball comes barrelling into your strike zone with a familiar exhaust note. Though we aren’t sure whether we can specifically say we like the looks of the Zimmer Golden Spirit, we can, without doubt, say that it has us wildly fascinated. Admit it. You’re curious too. You wouldn’t hesitate to get behind the wheel of this thing if the chance arose.
Chalk this up to yet another oddball automotive experience we have the courtesy of the auction powerhouse website Bring A Trailer. This 2011 “Zimmer Golden Spirit coupe” is currently for sale with no reserve. At the time of writing, it has a bid of $14,000. Honestly, for the amount of work that must have gone into this thing, the price point isn’t looking too bad so far. There’s likely a good reason for that, though. It probably has a wildly niche selection of buyers. But hey, there’s a yin for every yang, right?
What is a Zimmer Golden Spirit, Anyway?
Zimmer was an automotive manufacturer based in New York that originally opened in 1978. The Golden Spirit was a flagship model of theirs that carried its 1920s styling right up until the late 1990s when it was sold to Art Zimmer, who launched the Art Zimmer Neo-Classic Motor Car Company. According to AutoTrader, this is the company that manufactured these goofy Mustangs (and four-door variants based on the Cadillac CTS) as recently as 2016.
That price tag is going to look good in just a second here. That’s because AutoTrader reports that, in 2016, the cost of a 2016 Mustang-based two-door coupe was a whopping $238,700. Someone seriously paid a quarter-million dollars for one of these things!
From what we can currently find, the Art Zimmer Neo-Classic Motor Car Company is defunct.
It Used to Be a Perfectly Good 2011 Ford Mustang GT
Those familiar with the year-to-year specifics of the Mustang model over the year will know that means one fantastic thing. This goofy coupe has a gen-one Coyote 5.0-liter V8 under the hood. That means this spirit-of-the-pre-depression-era has a whopping 412 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque on tap. Can you imagine cruising down the street next to this thing, and it suddenly takes off with the ferocious roar of a Coyote? If nothing else, you’d be monumentally confused.
Though the promise of drifting this thing seems more than enticing, there is a problem. The Coyote, unfortunately, shares the engine bay and tunnel with a six-speed automatic transmission. Still, the Coyote torque provides more than enough zest to keep the tires spinning if you want to stay sideways. Plus, it’s not like this car isn’t used to some modification. Why not throw a manual swap at it, too?
Overall, this is certainly not something you’ll see driving every day. But, while it doesn’t suit everyone, we’ve no doubt that the new owner will be happy to parade it around and explain to everyone who asks what his Zimmer Golden Spirit is.
Photos: Bring a Trailer