Mustang Sydney: Ford's partnership with actress Sydney Sweeney a fit for both parties

"She would come in every couple of weeks and work on it for a few days," says Emory. "The car thing is kind of an escape for her: She knows she can come here to the workshop and she can just be herself and she can check out from all the noise out there. She can work on her car, and nobody here treats her like an actress. She's just Syd."

Sweeney grew up in Spokane, Washington, and northern Idaho and scored her first acting role when she was 12. She appeared on episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" and "The Handmaid's Tale" in her teens and early 20s, but her breakthrough came in 2019 when she was cast on HBO's "Euphoria" as the sweet and erratic Cassie Howard. That rocketed her to fame and garnered her a substantial young, online fanbase.

She followed it with roles on the first season of "The White Lotus" — in 2022 she was a double Emmy nominee for "White Lotus" and "Euphoria" — and last year's "Reality." December's "Anyone But You," a romantic comedy in which she starred alongside "Top Gun: Maverick's" Glen Powell, became a surprise box office hit after its pre-Christmas release.

Earlier this month, Sweeney hosted "Saturday Night Live," and last week her horror movie "Immaculate," in which she stars as a nun from Metro Detroit, hit theaters. (Sweeney also starred in last month's superhero debacle "Madame Web," which she cracked a joke about on "SNL.")

Sweeney has built an audience of 19.2 million Instagram followers, and her Syd's Garage TikTok, which she uses to track her car builds, has 1.7 million followers.

The Ford deal allows the car company to tap into Sweeney's base, and helps her show a different side to her personality, says Ford's Martin.

"She's able to be herself," says Martin, who has worked with Sweeney during the campaigns, which included a second workwear line in November 2023. "What you're seeing is the real Syd, and I think she enjoys that Ford is able to help her show that side to the world, and not have her be seen as just a gorgeous bombshell on the red carpet. Which she is, but she also has this really authentic side to her: She does roll up her sleeves and get her hands dirty, and she wants to do everything herself, and she knows what she's doing in the garage. And I think that's as beneficial for her as it is for us, to be able to show that side of herself to the world."

After finishing the Bronco project, Sweeney went about restoring a vintage 1965 Mustang, which she also scored on Bring a Trailer. She named the car Britney, a dual homage to the car's Brittany Blue color, as well as pop icon Britney Spears.

That restoration project led to Sweeney custom-designing a 2024 Ford Mustang GT, which includes Sweeney's heart bolt emblem embossed on the leather seats as well as the outside of the car. Only two of the vehicles were made: one for the contest winner, which was pulled from approximately 5,000 submissions, and one for Sweeney herself.

The contest concluded on Wednesday, and the future of Sweeney and Ford's partnership is to be determined; Sweeney's next restoration project is a Porsche, which she'll be working on at Emory's garage, but Ford hopes to keep Sweeney in its family.

"I could not be more pleased with the campaign," Martin says, "and Sydney's been an amazing partner."