On June 5th, five deadly, terrorizing twisters swept through the small town of Simla, Colorado. These tornado’s eradicated several buildings and several homes. It destroyed the barn of the Richardson family but left their house and their 1971 Mustang Mach 1, which was in the barn untouched.

The property belonged to sweet old Jane Richardson, whose family has lived there for five generations. After the tornadoes ended, her five sons and neighbors rushed over to see if she was alright. She was unscathed and so was her Mustang – despite having its shed ripped off around it by the whirlwinds. It remained standing there as if nothing had happened.

The 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 is one of the more iconic American musclecars of all time. With its dual scooped hood, fighter jet styling and optional 351 Cleveland and 429 Super Cobra Jet mills, the Mach 1 was a fighter plane for the road. The Mach 1’s fame as a land based fighter grew after it was driven by James Bond (Sean Connery) in the 1971 spy thriller Diamonds Are Forever.

James Bond (Sean Connery) getting the Mach 1 sideways in Diamonds Are Forever.

A 1973 Mach 1 also starred as Eleanor in the original 1974 Gone In 60 Seconds where it was driven by the late great H.B. “Toby” Halicki. The film featured plenty of screen time of the Mustang where it burned its tires and outran the cops during the climactic 40-minute chase sequence, one of the longest in movie history.

Recently, Hammond of Top Gear fame drove one throughout South America. But the trip was abandoned in Argentina after an incident involving a license plate on Clarkson’s Porsche that was mistaken as a reference to the Falklands War.

The Mustang Mach 1 is one of the toughest and wildest musclecars of all time. The fact that it still stands after a tornado is a testament to its awesomeness. Do you think the musclecar Gods spared this one for a reason?