If people were asked to guess what the best-selling sports car in the world is, there’s a good chance that the answers would have as much variety to them as the number of colors in a Skittles pack. The Mazda MX-5 is a good answer. The same goes for the Porsche 911, and at least for new models, the BMW 4 Series. All three models have proven to be popular among buyers all over the world, but none of them can lay claim to being the best-selling sports car in the world. That title now belongs to a certain muscle car from Dearborn, the Ford Mustang.

It seems to strange to think that it took this long for the Mustang to ascend to being the best-selling sports car in the world considering that it’s been around since 1964. But the current-generation Mustang has done the car’s legacy right because according to IHS Markit new vehicle registration data, over 150,000 Mustangs were sold all over the world in 2016. That figure represented a six percent increase from its 2015 sales figures. Equally impressive is the Mustang’s sales volume internationally where sales literally doubled in 2016 to 45,000 units. The significant increase is largely tied to the muscle car’s growing popularity in China where sales of the ‘Stang grew by an impressive 74 percent from its 2015 numbers. Other countries like Germany also saw increased demand for the car while new markets like Bonaire, Gibraltar, and New Caledonia all contributed in driving up the car’s sales volume.

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Well done, Ford Mustang!

A short of list of possible candidates for best-selling sports car should include the Ford Mustang, but even I was a little surprised to see the Ford pony car beat out some pretty stiff competition for the title. Personally, I thought it was either going to be the Mazda MX-5 or the BMW 4 Series that would lay claim to “best-selling” status, but I didn’t know that the Mustang’s expansion played a big role in the car becoming the best-selling sports car of the year.

Apparently, the Mustang is now sold in 140 countries, including in places like Laos, South Africa, and Norway. That’s about as global a reach as you can have for a car and beginning with the 2018 model, the Mustang is expected to reach six more countries for the first time, including Brazil, the Palau Islands, and the Ivory Coast. That kind of reach plays a big role in expanding the Mustang’s reach so there’s a good chance that the American muscle car will retain its title as the best-selling sports car for 2017. If it does – and there’s a very good chance – it would be three years in a row of the car holding on that distinction. It’s a very impressive feat considering the kind of competition it has across a wide swath of segments in the business.

Interestingly, the IHS makes no mention on the classifications that make a sports car a “sports car” nor did it mention which sports car came in runner-up to the Mustang. It did confirm that Ford’s analysis was spot-on and that the Mustang is the best-selling sports car of 2016. Considering the car’s growing popularity, not to mention its strength in the US where it’s tracking for another year of close to or around 100,000 sold units, it’s going to take a really popular sports car to unseat the Mustang as the best-selling sports car in a given year.

Or as Ford Mustang marketing manager, Mark Schaller, said in a statement: “The legacy of Mustang continues to grow, and in places it never reached before. We continue to make it available in new markets, and drivers in those markets continue to respond with resounding approval.”

That’s going to be tough to beat.

Read our full review on the Ford Mustang here.