Travel on Trial: Full throttle on a Mustang tour of Ibiza

The moment I saw the cars at Ibiza-based Mustang Adventures, my mind drifted back several decades to a now-vanished America. There was Steve McQueen, gunning his Ford Mustang Fastback through the streets of San Francisco in Bullitt while, in the background, I heard the voice of Chuck Berry, singing: “I’ve got a 1966 cherry-red Mustang Ford. It’s got a three hundred and eighty five horsepower over load. You know it’s way too fast to be crawlin’ on these interstate roads.”

Such is the initial impact of the classic American dream machine that the company hires out on the Balearic island. But enough of the fantasy. I was about to make the dream a reality and get behind the wheel of a couple of these “muscle cars” to explore Ibiza’s hidden away places. 

Mustang Adventures have seven cars for hire on Ibiza, all first generation models dating from the mid-Sixties, four of which are convertibles and all but one with V8 engines; all bar one are also automatic. For Mustang Adventures’ co-owner Conor McCarthy, the thrill lies in driving a car that’s “a throwback to a long gone era – it’s a bit like a time capsule. And it possesses a style we don’t have these days, and then there’s the sound and the physicality of the car.”

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McCarthy told me what I could expect. “You have a huge amount of power coming very quickly and this is distributed to the back wheels, so you have to be careful of ‘fishtailing’. Steering on these classic cars is a lot less tight and more involving than on a modern car. It takes you back to that connection with the road, you have to be constantly aware. We want the cars to perform as they did in the Sixties.”

“Choose your weapon,” announces the website of Mustang Adventures, but it’s a hard choice. The red convertible 4.7-litre V8 289, dating from 1965, is like a prima ballerina, while the automatic 4.7-litre V8 289, from the same year, in distinctive dark blue with a black stripe, has more poke and is the heavyweight boxer.

I pick the red one first – the weather’s fine, so the top’s down. Strapped in with an old-style lap-belt, I checked the instrument panel with its pleasingly simple dials and switches, turned the key and the engine gently rumbled into life. After a glance at the map – we were heading for the quiet village of Es Cubells in the south-west – I pulled out of the garage with a jolt and a wobble. The clutch is much softer than I imagined and though there’s no power steering on this model the wheel needs only the lightest of touches. Soon we were riding smoothly. Back home, no one pays my car any attention. It’s quiet and unobtrusive and a bit mundane. This is different – people take notice and crowd around when we stop. 

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I get a thumbs-up from other car drivers. And the noise is something else: a magnificent, throaty roar. We pause at the pretty, whitewashed church in Es Cubells before moving round the coast road for a spellbinding view of the vertiginous island of Es Vedrà, which is said to have magnetic properties. Did I feel a pull to the left on the steering wheel? Maybe it was my driving.

I was itching to slam my foot down on the gas, but was held back by a fear of losing control and by the fact that the car cost around €40,000 (￡35,000). Some of the roads are narrow, too with rocky verges – I’m also conscious of getting a puncture or slipping into a ditch. Dual carriageways are more fun, there’s the chance to overtake and when I do press on the throttle, there’s an instant surge of speed and the feeling is thrilling and a little scary, too.

After lunch we headed back up the east coast through the flower-filled meadows of Morna Valley to unhurried San Carlos – the village jolted out of its late-afternoon torpor with the arrival of my car. I felt like the bad guy riding into town in a Western, but no-one hid indoors, instead they gazed on as I parked – and stalled.

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The next morning I switched cars to the dark blue coupé. Again it was in perfect condition. All the cars have been restored and not over-modified, from the engines to the paintwork and the cream leather interiors (Mustang Adventures’ mechanic, Lyon, worked on the set of Fast & Furious).

It was an automatic and more powerful, louder and slightly heavier to handle, despite the power steering. We headed to the other-worldly salt pans of Las Salinas, before pushing the throttle and heading west to the rocky headland of Cala Conta – and then 

we struck north to Benirràs, our final destination. Known for its sunsets and unrelenting drumming parties on the beach on Sunday nights, the bongo players would now have something else to contend with – the sweet growl of a V8 engine as I revved up the Mustang one last time.

The verdict

Driving test

It takes time to handle the Mustang properly, but when you get into the rhythm, you won’t want to let go of the steering wheel. As for my driving, I was rated a generous 7/10. 

Pit stops

Stay at the elegant Gran Hotel Montesol Ibiza in Ibiza Town and, in the countryside, the inviting boutique-style Ca Na Xica. 

In the slow lane

As an antidote to the Mustangs, go sailing in a traditional llaut with Bohemian Boat Charters.  

How to do it

Mustang Adventures offers experience days from €290 (￡255); drivers must be aged between 29 and 68.