Sydney Sweeney Is Giving Away This Custom Ford Mustang to a Woman Who Moved Her to Tears (Exclusive) (2024)

Sydney Sweeney is all about the garage — and one lucky fan will soon benefit from her passion by getting a custom 2024 Ford Mustang GT designed by Sweeney herself.

The Emmy-nominated actress, 26, tells PEOPLE her love for cars began at a young age. She’ll never forget the day not long after she got her driver’s permit when her mom randomly told her to pull the car over.

“I was like, ‘What’s wrong?’ and she goes, ‘Go change the tire.' And I’m like, 'There’s nothing wrong with the tire,' " says Sweeney, 26. “She said, 'Go change it.' "

Before Sweeney was able to get her license, she was “required to know how to change oil, all the fluids and change a tire," she recalls.

Shelearned to drive in her great-grandfather’s truck, and during the pandemic, she documented her restoration of a 1969 Ford Bronco on her TikTok channel, Syd’s_Garage. And she recently restored a 1965 Ford Mustang she named Britney — not for the pop star, but rather the Brittany Blue hue used on cars like the Mustang in the 1960s.

The automobile obsession runs in the family. Her mom grew up with “a bunch” of brothers and was close to her boy cousins, who were all mechanics and worked on both cars and airplanes, Sweeney says.

“Like me, she is also very much a tomboy.She always believed in being able to do everything that a guy could do,” says the Euphoria star. “She instilled that in me, and wanted me to be comfortable in a man’s world.”

Now she's paying it forward with her Ford collaboration and giveaway, the winner of which will be presented with the vehicle this week at the New York Auto Show.

To be considered, contestants wrote about their own journey breaking boundaries. Sweeney ultimately chose Brittley C., who coincidentally lives in Sweeney's hometown of Spokane, Wash. (PEOPLE is not publishing Brittley's last name to protect her privacy.)

Brittley fixed her first car when she was 20 after getting a shocking estimate from a car repair shop.

“I was quoted $10,000, and who has that kind of money?” says Brittley, 28. “I called my dad and he said, ‘Let’s do it ourselves.’ "

“My whole life the majority of things I was passionate about ended up being things that were male dominated,” adds Brittley, who previously worked in the culinary world. “I think having a family who was supportive of me and then working on these cars helped me find my confidence in what often can be male-dominated industries.”

Sweeney says she was movedto tears over Brittley’s submission, as well as all the others.

“It was such an amazing space to see all of these females come together and share their stories,” Sweeney says. “They lift each other up and encourage and motivate others to do the same.”

Even after leaving Spokane for Hollywood to pursue an acting career, Sweeney continued working on cars. In Los Angeles she met another actor, Zayne Emory, whose father designs custom Porsche vehicles and owns the prestigious Emory Motorsports.

“My best friend’s dad, Rod Emory, was kind enough [to help],” Sweeney says. “I would come in on my days off for Euphoria and get all greasy and dirty and learn the mechanics of my car. I just became one with the vehicle.”

Working on cars also gave her a helpful lesson: Never be afraid to ask questions.

“I think it is important to be open to learning and making mistakes," she says.

The giveaway goes hand in hand with Sweeney's priority to help women be heard and seen.

“I started my production company, Fifty-Fifty Films, because I wanted to have a seat at the table,” Sweeney says of her venture, which is committed to bringing women-led productions to film and television. “I wanted to be able to take the initiative to come up with the characters that I want to be, create stories that I think should be told and be a part of more than just waiting for someone to call me. I wanted to be able to be the one to call others.”

Now Brittley is the latest to get a call from Sweeney.

“Brittley ends [her entry] with she can do anything a guy can do with pink nail polish on,” Sweeney says. “I absolutely loved that.”