Ringbrothers showed off their newest creation, the Kingpin, at SEMA. It is a strong and well-kept 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1. It has a larger body, a longer length, and a trendy logo featuring a chess piece. Carbon fiber is also used to trim it. The Kingpin has an 800-horsepower Coyote V-8 engine, fully independent suspension, and strong Brembo brakes. Ringbrothers, a Wisconsin-based business that makes custom modifications to old muscle cars, has just grown. At SEMA 2023, they put a GM turbocharged V-8 engine in a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. For their first time at Monterey Car Week this year, they built an amazing Aston Martin DBS. Ringbrothers went back to their roots for SEMA 2025 with Kingpin, a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 that got a new body and an 800-hp heart transplant. Co-owner Jim Ring said that the goal with the Kingpin was to make “the final boss in a John Wick movie.” The Kingpin looks a lot like the original Mustang, but Ringbrothers stretched the rear by 3.5 inches and the front by 2 inches. There are 1.5 inches more length in front of the Kingpin, and its stance is more aggressive. For some colors, the brake calipers and logos are accented with green. But the Kingpin’s deep black paint makes it look mean. It has a unique carbon-fiber diffuser that extends from under the rear bumper. It goes with the hood, grille surround, front lip, and some interior trim. The taillights still have the traditional look of three vertical stripes, even though they are 3D-printed and serve as vents to let air out of the duct in front of the rear wheels. As always with the Ringbrothers, the engine bay is full of funny details. Many of the caps, like those for engine coolant and power steering fluid, have yellow labels and emblems that give them a handmade look. The three-dimensional king chess piece that forms the “i” in the strong “Kingpin” font is the most interesting part of the engine cover. There is a similar symbol on the back fascia as well. Digital dials, 3-D-printed and machined brightwork, and a specially designed steering wheel with a green 12 o’clock hash mark and a crushed-carbon finish are all in the cabin, which is mostly black leather. The aluminum shifter is machined and has a splash of green. The seats have a black-and-white spotted cloth stripe down the middle. A roll cage is also added to improve safety and stiffness. There is a Whipple blower on the Coyote 5.0-liter V-8 engine made by Wegener Motorsports that gives the car almost 800 horsepower. A six-speed manual gearbox from Bowler Transmissions sends that rush of power only to the back wheels. Headers from Ringbrothers and a Flowmaster Super 44 Series exhaust are said to give the Kingpin a loud sound. The HRE Vintage Series 517 wheels have Fox RS single-adjustable coil-overs and independent front and rear suspension. They look great. They have Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires that grip the road well. The big Brembo brakes stop the car. The front brakes have six-piston calipers, and the rear brakes have four-piston calipers. Ringsbrothers says that the Kingpin took more than 5500 hours to build. This sleek Mustang is a great example of the fine craftsmanship for which the Wisconsin-based company is known. The Kingpin is a great example of what Ringbrothers is known for, even though we liked their recent move toward British machines.
