The Evolution of Ford Mustang
If someone asks a car guy, "Dude, which pony car has got the biggest fan-base?", without any hesitation the car guy will answer the name 'MUSTANG'. Yes, That's true, Mustang has got the highest number of fan-base till date. Have we ever thought how a car with 4 wheels and a steel body has become so popular that it even out-numbered the followers of a celebrity? Here, we're going to dig into the history of Mustang, and how she evolved to occupy a space in every car guy's heart.
THE DAY MUSTANG ROARED
Lee Lacocca, vice president and general manager at Ford, envisioned about sporty car focused on youths. As a result, the legend was debuted on April 17,1964 at the World's Fair in New York at an attractive price of $2,368.00. The Ford Mustang laid the cornerstone of a whole new segment of automobile known as pony cars. Ford initially planned for annual sales of 100,000 units but in surprise to all, the dealers took 22,000 Mustang orders on the first day itself.
An incident that happened in Texas goes like this. 15 customers thronged to bid on the same Mustang and the winning bidder resorted to sleeping overnight in his new car so that it wouldn't be sold out from under him before his cheque could clear. This clearly shows the car enthusiasts out there that day got mesmerized by the new Mustang.
THE FIRST GENERATION MUSTANG
The Mustang was introduced four months before the start of the 1965 production year, therefore enthusiasts referred the earliest Mustangs as 19641/2 model. The initial engine lineup was a 2.8 L straight-six directly from the Ford Falcon. In the late 65's, several changes were made in the engine lineup which includes the legendary 4.8 L V8 which put out 271 HP and 423 Nm of torque at 3300 RPM. Then, Ford replaced the 2.8 L straight-six with 3.3 L that produced 120 HP.
The Mustang GT version was introduced with V8 with a badge on the front fender that shows the engine's cubic inch displacement with a wide 'V'. Along with that, the GT came with grille-mounted fog lamps, rocker panel stripes, and disc brakes. With all the glory Mustang roared into 1966 with only minor changes and on that year March, Ford built the millionth Mustang.
GROWTH OF A LEGEND (1967-1971)
The first significant redesign in the year 1967. Mustang grew in dimensions, weight and Ford introduced a big block V8 engine for the first time in Mustang. 4.8 L V8 was swapped with 6.4 L big-block V8 that produced a whopping 335 HP. In the year 1968, Ford introduced a special Mustang for Drag racing with a 7.0 L Cobra Jet V8 engine rated at 335 HP and 597 Nm of torque.
From 1969, Mustang started gaining weight with a bulkier design and more engine lines-ups. Ford added a new 5.8 L V8 engine with 290 HP. Ford redesigned the mustang and introduced the quad headlights places both inside and outside the grille. The car was longer than the previous models and the fastback body version was termed as Sports-Roof in Ford's literature. The same year saw the introduction of MACH and BOSS models.
Speaking about the MACH 1, Ford introduced this model with a variety of power-plants, many new styling, and performance features. It was Ford's answer to GM's Camaro. The main highlight of Mach 1 is the functional shaker hood scoop which is directly attached to the air filter. Mach 1 was offered only in fastback a.k.a sports-roof form with cable-pin tie-downs, pop-up gas caps, and dual exhaust.
The Boss 302 was built to meet Trans-Am racing requirements with distinctive hockey-stick stripes while the Boss 429 was built to fulfill Ford's dream to homologate it's engine for NASCAR racing. The Boss 429 is considered as being one of the rarest and highly valued muscle cars to date. In total, only 1359 Boss 429 were made. This beast was powered by a 7.0L V8 engine that produced 375 HP at 5000 RPM and 610 Nm of torque at 3400 RPM.
In the mid 1970's Ford realized the glory of the Mustang started fading away due to strict government regulations on emission norms and high gas prices. Not only Mustang, all the muscle cars out there that time was affected due to the said reasons. Therefore Ford re-styled the Mustangs to less aggressive. Sales dipped in 1970 models compared to 1969 models.
In 1971, Mustang gained yet more size and a new styled rear profile gave the pony car a distinctively different profile compared to earlier Mustangs. As the emission rules tightened and customers started moving away from pony cars, their engine choices also collapsed due to this Ford had to drop the big block powered in Boss 351, 429, Mach 1 leaving 5.8 L engines as the largest for the upcoming year 1972 - '73.
MUSTANG BECAME A HATCHBACK (1974-1978)
In the second-generation Mustang, Ford tried to address the complaints they have received from the customers regarding the transformation of Mustang from Fit to Fat. As an answer in 1974, Ford introduced the Mustang ll, a subcompact available in notch-back or hatch-back design. Due to the increasing oil crisis and demand for fuel-efficient cars, Mustang's engine got more economical and the consumer could choose between a 2.3 L four-cylinder or 2.8 L V6 engines. Ford downgraded Mustang from a performance pony car to an upscale economy car with Mustang Ghia topping the line with more luxury and fuel efficiency.
In 1979, Ford introduced the third-generation Mustang into a new platform called FOX. They were available in both notch-back and hatchback styles and with the more economical engine of 2.3L four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine producing just 88 HP and the same with turbocharged producing 132 HP. The other performance engine options included a 2.8L V6, 3.3 I6, and 4.9L V8 labeled as 5.0.
Foreseen the second wave of the oil crisis, Ford replaced 4.9L V8 with 4.2L V8 fro the 1980 and '81 model Mustangs. Ford started focusing on making Mustangs more performance-oriented and introduced the Mustang SVO (Special Vehicle Operations) in 1984 with a 2.3L in-line four-cylinder engine equipped with an inter-cooled turbocharger system and technologically improved advanced computer fuel injection system that combined to deliver significantly increased horsepower. The 1984 SVO had a power output of 175 HP, while the '85 SVO reached 205 HP. This made the SVO the fastest and powerful Mustang at that time.
THE RETURN OF A LEGEND (1994-1998)
The fourth-generation saw a major redesign after 15 years, being introduced in 1993 and launched on December 3, 1993. The design was codenamed as "SN-95" by Ford and was based on the updated version of the Fox platform. It was the final ford vehicle built on this platform. The base Mustang had a 3.8L V6 producing 145 HP at 4000 RPM and 292 Nm of torque at 2500 RPM which was pretty good compared to the competitors. Ford reintroduced the small block 4.9L V8 engine (called 5.0L) in it's GT version that produced 215 HP at 4200 RPM and 386 Nm of torque at 3400 RPM
"NEW EDGE" (1999-2004)
Ford redesigned the "SN-95" Mustang under the new design language "New Edge" as Ford coined the term. In the same year, under the same design platform, Ford's Special Vehicle Team built a dynamic Mustang called the Mustang Cobra SVT. This beast was powered by a 4.6L V8 engine which produced a whopping 320 HP at 6000 RPM and 430 Nm of torque at 4750 RPM. The Cobra SVT became the first Mustang to feature an independent rear suspension. This special edition Mustang was only offered in performance red, laser red, silver, and white shades.
HALL OF FAME OF MUSCLE CARS (2005-2014)
The fifth-generation Mustang debuted at the 2003 North American International Auto Show on January 5, 2003. In the following year, Ford redesigned the Mustang preview on the 2003 North American International Auto Show and codenamed it as "S-197" and planned it's official launch by 2005. The 2005-2009 base Mustang was powered by Ford's 4.0L V6 engine which produced 210 HP and 325 Nm of torque at 5300 RPM and 3500 RPM respectively. The GT version had a 4.6L V8that produced around 300 HP at 5750 RPM and 433 Nm of torque at 4500 RPM. The GT model was capable of doing a quarter-mile in 13.8 seconds with an acceleration of 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds.
The fifth-generation Mustang got a facelift in 2010 with a very special highlight was the sequential taillights. Later the year 2011 bought new engines like the base 3.7L V6 with 305 HP and new 5.0L V8 that put-out an impressive 412 HP.
THE MODERN MUSTANG (2015-Today)
The Sixth generation Mustang codenamed as the S550 is the current iteration of the Mustang manufactured by Ford. It was released in 2015 as a celebration of Mustang's 50th anniversary. At the launch three engines were available, a standard 300 HP 3.7L Cyclone V6, 310 HP 2.3L in-line four-cylinder Ecoboost turbocharged engine, 435 HP 5.0L Coyote V8 for GTs. In 2018, the 5.0L Coyote engine was upgraded with revised intake runners, larger valves, and dual injection which utilizes both direct injection and port injection. As a result, there was a slight increase in the displacement and the power turned out as 460 HP. In 2019, Ford announced the new four-door electric crossover SUV based on Mustang platform, and 2020 marked the year of the return of most fan-based Mustang Model that is the MACH 1. Rumours say the new MACH 1 will be powered by the Coyote with 480 HP and 570 Nm of Torque.
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