Here’s a detailed look at the official 1968 Indy 500 pace car, a Torino Convertible, as featured in an original Ford Motor Company promotional clip.

Here’s an interesting little riddle about the official pace car supplied by the Ford Motor Company for the 1968 Indianapolis 500. Several credible sources, including the books Pace Cars of the Indy 500 by L. Spencer Riggs and Consumer Guide’s Indy 500 Pace Cars, document that the ’68 Torino Convertible was powered by Ford’s mighty 427 cubic-inch V8. However, the original factory clip from ’68 we’re featuring here clearly states that the car was powered by the 428 CID Cobra Jet V8, Ford’s new performance engine that year. And for their part, a number of Ford restoration experts are also convinced that the Torino that performed the actual pace car duties was sporting Cobra Jet power under the hood.

Along with the official pace car and one or two back-up vehicles (another fun  discrepancy) prepared for race day, there were an additional 709 Torino convertibles built with the Pace Car Promotion package, which was essentially an appearance option package that dealers were free to combine with any equipment they chose. Most of these pace car replicas were equipped with 302 or 390 V8s and Cruise-O-Matic three speed automatic transmissions, and Styled Steel wheels instead of the Kelsey-Hayes Magnum 500s used on the actual pace vehicle.

In the clip below, we see Indy 500 winners A.J. Foyt and Rodger Ward take their turns behind the wheel of the pace car, along with longtime chief steward Harlan Fengler. However, the race day pilot was William Clay Ford, Ford Motor Company vice president. (All three Ford brothers served as pace car drivers at Indy, starting with Henry II in 1946.) Enjoy the video.