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HomeFeatured ArticlesFord Mustang | 56 Years Of American Muscle

Ford Mustang | 56 Years Of American Muscle

By the 1960s, the boomers were demanding more modern and powerful cars. They were ready to spend loads of money on luxuries. The likes of GM and Chrysler were proving to be tough competition. Ford had to do something in order to survive in the changing market trends. This is when Ford Mustang comes into the picture.

April 17, 1964 – The Debut Of The Beast

Ford Mustang 1964
Ford Mustang 1964

Launched with an attractive price of $2,368 at that time, Ford Mustang became a hit amongst the youth of America. “When the Mustang was unveiled, the reaction was so positive that there was no doubt it was going to be a success,” recalls Joe Oros, chief designer of the Ford Mustang. On the very first day of launch, dealers saw 22,000 bookings of the mean machine. Within 12 months of the launch, 4,17,000 Mustangs were running on the American roads. 2 years later, the sales chart tallied to 1 million. That was a massive response from the buyers.

1965 – Caroll Shelby | The man who made this possible

Ford Mustang GT 350 Shelby Edition
Ford Mustang GT 350 Shelby Edition

Ford was in a really bad condition when it lost to Ferrari at the 24-hour Le Mans. Carol Shelby and Ken Miles were the ones to save it from embarrassment. These guys were the minds behind the legendary Ford GT40. Then how could Ford not want Shelby to give his touch to the Mustang? The GT350 was introduced. It was the first mass-production car that was ready to roar on the racetracks as well. It was powered by a 4.7-liter V8 engine which produced a massive 306hp of power. Ken Miles won the class B Production racing driving the GT350. The car made it a point to embarrass the opponents for the next three years too.

1967 – The Mustang GT500 – Caroll’s Personal Favourite

The GT500
The GT500

“The first car that I’m really proud of” – Caroll Shelby. Powered by a 7.0-litre V8 engine capable of producing 355hp of power. There were less than 2000 units of the GT500 ever produced making it one of the most valuable Mustangs ever made. After featuring in the movie Gone in 60 seconds, the demand increased even more.

1968 – The Boss Has Arrived

The Boss 302
The Boss 302

Caroll Shelby was not the only one working his magic in the Mustang line up. Bunkie Knudsen and Larry Shinoda left GM in 1968 and joined Ford. They made the most famous Mustangs of all time, Boss 302 and Boss 429.

Boss 429
Boss 429

Shinoda designed Boss 429 is a rare find, this is the reason why John Wick wreaked havoc when his Boss 429 was destroyed.

1984 – 20th Anniversary of the muscle

The Special Edition 20th Anniversary Mustang
The Special Edition 20th Anniversary Mustang

When the 20 years of the American muscle were completed, Ford launched a limited edition of the Ford Mustang GT in Oxford White color on the exterior while Canyon Red interiors.

Ford decided something for the Mustang, People won’t let that happen

When Ford signed an agreement with the Japanese car maker Mazda, to build Mazda 626 and MX-6, they decided to use the front-wheel-drive platform for eh Mustang too.

Ford Probe
Ford Probe

But people were not ready to accept that the fully American muscle was going to get a Japanese skeleton. Ford was quick to understand the retaliation and launched the car as Ford Probe while keeping the Mustang nameplate alive. Mustang would have looked ugly in that avatar. Also, Ford would have lost the only performance car they had in the rear-wheel-drive forte.

1993 – A More Race Intended Mustang

Mustang Cobra
Mustang Cobra

Ford’s Special Vehicle Team (SVT) introduced the limited production SVT Mustang Cobra in 1993. It was powered by a 5.0-liter engine that produced 235hp of power and 280Nm of torque. This engine was capable of taking the car from 0 to 100kmph in just 5.7 seconds. You may be astonished to know that the Mustang Cobra was not approved by the upper management of the company but the SVT was sure that this will do good for the company. And indeed it did.

1994 – Ford Mustang comes with a new design 

Ford Mustang - Fourth Generation
Ford Mustang – Fourth Generation

The fourth-gen Mustang was launched. Many people at the company thought that giving a revamp to the icon is definitely a suicidal attempt but when it was launched, the response was overwhelming. The new design was completely accepted by the Mustang clan.

1999 – 35th Anniversary | Time passes real quick

Ford Mustang Special Edition
Ford Mustang Special Edition

On 17 April 1999, Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina witnessed a huge gathering in order to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the beast. Ford Motor Co. unveiled a special edition Mustang commemorating the anniversary an also introduced 2000 SVT Ford Mustang Cobra R prototype.

2000 – Mustang Cobra R – Just Shear Performance

Ford Mustang Cobra R
Ford Mustang Cobra R

Cobra R was just meant to race, it was the fastest Mustang(factory-made) ever made. It had nothing extra that would add on to the weight of the car, not even AC. It was powered by a 5.0-liter DOHC V8 engine which produced 385hp of raw power taking the car from 0 to 100kmph in a mere 4.4 seconds.

Do you remember? Ford Escort | First Ford Car In India Or Was It?

2005 – 5th Generation Arrives

Ford Mustang 5th Generation
Ford Mustang 5th Generation

This generation of Mustang had a retro yet modern feel in it. Yet the Fox body was gone. It was a bolder Mustang. The base model was equipped with a 4.0-liter Cologne V6 which produced 240hp of power.

2007 – Return of GT500 Shelby

GT 500 2007 edition
GT 500 2007 edition

Caroll Shelby cut off his ties with Ford in 1970 when Cobra’s name was used without his acceptance. The entire line of Shelby Mustang died with the cut-off.

But in 2007, Mustang Shelby GT500 has introduced again. It was equipped with a 500hp supercharged 5.4-liter V8 engine.

Also read: Ford Ikon | The Josh Machine of India

2015 – 50 years mark the entry of the 6th generation

Ford Mustang 6th generation
Ford Mustang 6th generation

With the completion of 50 years, a brand new Mustang was introduced to the world. It was much sleeker and modern. Every corner, every inch was new and yet the Mustang’s 50 years of legacy was still visible in the new edition.

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Mustang has come a long way and is still known as the American Muscle. It is sold across the globe and is the most sought-after sports car for those who like them big. With such a legacy and many more years to come, 56 years of time seems small.

Have a look: Ford Vs Ferrari | An Epic Rivalry | A True Story

Ritvik Gupta
Ritvik Guptahttps://gomechanic.in/blog
Ex-Technical Content Developer at GoMechanic | Automobile enthusiast with a knack to decode it for everyone | Automobile Engineer by passion

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