Since its arrival on the market in 1964, the Ford Mustang has become more than just a vehicle, it is a symbol of American culture and an icon of motorsports. This year marks 60 years since this iconic model arrived on the market. and, in addition, the launch of its seventh generation is announced.
Although we all agree that the Mustang is a legend, its appearance responded to the brand’s need to look for changes. Ford was looking for a successor to the Thunderbirda model that was losing ground to rivals such as the Chevrolet Corvette and the Camaro.
Lee Iacocca, who at the time was vice president of Ford, saw in the Mustang the opportunity to reinvent himself in the market and once again capture the public’s attention. For this reason, at the New York show in 1964, it achieved resounding success from the beginning, with more than 400,000 units sold in its first two years.
Not only did it define a new category of sports car, the “pony car”, but it also became a pop culture icon. He was able to carve out a niche for himself on the big screen, his appearance in the film “Bullitt” in 1968 with Steve McQueen at the wheel made him a star. The legend of this version meant that in 2001, Ford presented the Ford Mustang GT “Bullitt”, a special edition that emulated that of that movie.
Over the years, The Mustang has been able to adapt to the significant changes that have occurred in the automotive world, as in the oil crisis of the 70s, which led to the launch of its second generation, based on the Ford Pinto platform. Although it was less powerful than the previous generation, this model managed to be named “Car of the Year” by Motor Trend, but many purists consider it to be the least impressive of the entire saga.
Shortly after, at the end of the 70s, The third generation would arrive with a sportier design and a range of engines that included four, six and eight cylinder options.. In the middle of the next decade, specifically in 1986, it would incorporate electronic injection, which significantly improved the efficiency of this version.
However, The 90s saw the return of V8 engines and a retro design in the fourth generation. This new version introduced significant improvements to the suspension, offering a more dynamic driving experience.
As I mentioned before, The influence of this sports car goes beyond the world of motorsports, and an example of this is that it even came to be in the world of toys, being the vehicle chosen for Barbie, a convertible version designed for the comfort of the famous doll.
Already in the 21st century, the Ford Mustang has once again reinvented itself with the launch of the powerful Shelby GT 500 version that hit the market in 2006 and with the introduction of Ford’s first electric model, the Mach-E in 2020, which, in addition to adapting to the new measures of motorsports, showed that they were capable of not losing the sporting essence of this iconic vehicle.
For the coming years, Ford promises to continue maintaining the character of this asphalt legend and the GT version of the next generation with an 800-horsepower V8 engine gives us a glimpse that the Mustang has a sporting spirit left for many years.
