Log in / RegisterThe original Pony Car, a sales phenomenon and an American icon every bit as recognisable as Marilyn Monroe or the common beef burger. As a model, it sparked generations of continuous production, being subject to stylistic fads, motorsport successes, tuned to within an inch of its life and held up on the bedroom walls of car enthusiasts for five decades.
he Mustang’s success stemmed from its innate simplicity and a what-you-see-is-what-you-get American ethos. It didn’t start out this way however. In fact, the roots of the ultimate Pony Car originated in a mid-engined, forward thinking concept car that fascinated motor-show attendees in the early nineteen sixties.
To describe the Ford Mustang I, as it was called, is to list everything that the eventual road car was not. It was a petite, mid-engined four-cylinder two seater with no roof to speak of and an aluminium body. It came about after Ford began to consider the possibility of a small sports car to bridge a gap in the American auto market below big muscle cars such as the Corvette Stingray. Thus the plan for a low-cost, attractive, usable and fast Ford model was born by designer Eugene Bordinat.
The technical configuration of this early concept is pretty unimportant to the remainder of the Mustang story – safe to say it was innovative and completely opposed to the later car. In fact, the most crucial thing it gifted to the model we grew to know and cherish was the name – Mustang. Historians are not decided as to how the famous name truly came about, but there are two main schools of thought. The first involved Ford’s chief stylist John Najjar, who was an aviation nut. It was said that he named the concept after the North American P-51 Mustang fighter plane. Despite the plausibility of this story, some swear that it came about after Ford’s market research manager – Robert J. Eggert – suggested the name. Eggert, who was a breeder of quarterhorses, was reportedly given a present by his wife in 1960: the book called The Mustangs by J Frank Dobie. Other names on the shortlist had included Cougar and Torino, whilst Henry Ford II wanted T-Bird II. In a focus group test, however, it was the Mustang name that came out on top.
At the 1963 Watkins Glen Grand Prix, Ford unveiled the Mustang II. It was with this updated model that the unmistakable Mustang shape truly came about, and set the ball rolling for a production variant. Unlike the Mustang I, the II was designed entirely for the motor show circuit, although it spent its later life as a test mule for the production car. It garnered a great deal of intrigue from the public, whose interest had already been piqued by the Mustang I. However, with the second variant, potential customers could see the car as a serious proposition, rather than a futuristic curio. Furthermore, many of the Mustang’s most iconic design cues, such as its triple bar rear lights, fake radiator louvres and sleek shape were debuted on the II. It is testament to how well it fulfilled its job that by early 1964 it had reached the end of its shelf life. Ford was already building the production car.
Incredibly, the road-going Mustang was developed in only eighteen months, with the first chassis rolling off the production line in March 1964 and unveiled at the New York World’s Fair on 17th April. Offered as a 2+2 configuration, the Mk1 was available in three body types: hardtop, convertible and fastback. It was clear from the get go that the Mustang would be a cult hit. Customers poured into Ford showrooms from all over, whilst the first ‘Pony Car’ would be all over newspaper pages and even Hollywood, thanks to a famous appearance from a Mk1 convertible in Goldfinger.
The Mustang was a sensational success immediately. The most graphic indication of this was probably in the sales forecast for 1965. Ford believed it could sell just less than 100,000 cars by the end of the year. In actuality, that number was achieved within three months of launch, and a further 318,000 were sold before the year was out. Within eighteen months, one million units had been shifted. No one had seen anything like this before, especially from a sports car.
One of the primary reasons for this was the Mustang’s innate simplicity. It was based heavily on existing Ford models – namely the Falcon and Fairline – sharing many drivetrain, suspension, running gear and even interior parts. This was critical to its success for many reasons. Firstly, the asking price was reasonable at around two thousand dollars, whilst replacement parts were presumably very easy to find. Moreover, the Mustang quickly gained a reputation as a tuner car, thanks to its simple drivetrain. The standard car was effectively seen as a blank canvas by many owners, who were eager to add their own aftermarket touches. The most famous of these was surely the Shelby Mustang. Developed during a golden era of Shelby-tuned vehicles that included the AC Cobra, the fact that Carroll Shelby could create a legend entirely of his own with the Mustang goes to show how good the base car was at its job – to provide an effective base for others to add their flair to. Purists might not have liked it, but as a tuner car, the Mustang was perfect.
In many ways, Ford could never better the mouth-watering DNA of the original 1965 specification. By the early Seventies, the Mk1 had grown heavy and cumbersome, with customers preferring to purchase a lither Pinto or Maverick. Through successive generations, the Mustang grew further and further from the iconic looks and bare-bones simplicity of the early cars, until the brand was just that – a badge to stick on some vaguely coupe-shaped Ford. Whilst this undoubtedly has something to do with Ford’s marketing decisions, it is also testament to the unique vision of the original Mk1. It truly was a People’s Car, in much the same vein as the Mini, or the Volkswagen Beetle. In many ways, its colossal success was all the more impressive given that it was a premium sports car, rather than a glorified shopping trolley. In any case, it was one of the most enduring classics of all.