Microstang: Microsoft helps build a custom Mustang packed with Windows 8 and Kinect

Microsoft might be busy preparing Windows 8, but that hasn’t stopped a few of its Channel 9 team from working with West Coast Customs to build a very special Ford Mustang. The folks behind Pimp My Ride and Justin Bieber’s Batman-themed Cadillac have teamed up with Microsoft to create a wild mix of technology and automobile. The result is a 2012 Mustang retrofitted with Dynacom’s 1967 fastback replica body and a bunch of Microsoft’s latest technologies.

There is built-in Wi-Fi, heads-up displays with augmented reality in the windshield, Kinect sensors at the rear and front of the car, and even a Windows 8-powered touchscreen digital instrument cluster. Microsoft has also packed in Ford Sync, an Xbox 360, and a rear windshield projector screen. Windows Phone plays a part in the car tech too, you can locate, unlock, and start the car from a Windows Phone app, and even talk into the phone to broadcast your voice to the outside of the car.

This clearly isn’t your every day ride, but Microsoft thinks some developers will want to learn more. It is planning to open source the major components of the project on the company’s CodePlex site in the coming weeks, and Channel 9’s Jeff Sandquist revealed to us that Microsoft will bring the car to upcoming “top tier” events such as Tech-Ed in the near future. If you’re interested in the building of the car, including the Kinect sensors mounted behind the grill and rear lights, then a complete “Project Detroit” documentary will air on Sunday, March 25th, at 9PM PT / ET on Discovery’s Velocity Network.