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Journal: Mustang Fastback Was the Original Hot Hatch

Mustang Fastback Was the Original Hot Hatch

By Petrolicious
October 22, 2013

Debuted in 1964, the Mustang took America, and the world for that matter, by storm. Up until this point in automotive history the general public had never seen such a unique shape developed for them. Inspired by various European marques of the time, the Mustang overwhelmed dealers with 22,000 ordered in the first day!

The fastback came a several years later to refine the Mustang’s silhouette even further. By this time the horsepower wars were in full swing. Chevrolet was playing catch up with its Camaro and Plymouth was refining its Barracuda platform. In 1967 several special edition Mustang Fastbacks hit showrooms across the countrying including the GT/GTA, Hi-Po, and Cobra-Jet. While the later tipped the scales in price, the GT was the winner amongst enthusiasts. If there was one thing the Mustang did well it was the ability to take a universally adored design and empower its owners to personalize them to their tastes.

Our latest video (The Martini Mustang Is Loud & Fast Art) exhibits this mantra perfectly—albeit in a more contemporary time period. Today’s Mustang market is strong and while you still have to hunt for rust in the rockers and trunks there are still quite a few well restored daily drivers out there. With recent values leaping upward its not a bad time to scoop one up for a fair price in the low to mid-twenty-thousand range.

You’re bound to run into a few resto-modded or even hot rodded versions of the famous chassis—you can thank the modern version of Gone in Sixty Seconds for that one. Luckily there are plenty of well preserved models still roaming around your Americana suburban neighborhoods. All you have to do is be willing to put in the time to locate one. Tools like Hemmings.com and Forums have made this easier and as everybody covets a Shelby GT350 you can quietly sneak in and pick up a well sorted GT/GTA for well within an average enthusiast’s budget.

1967 Ford Mustang GT Fastback Specifications

•    8-cyl. 390cid/320hp 4bbl

•    Curb Weight 2,605 lbs.

•    Length 183.6 in.

•    Wheelbase 108 in.

•    71,042 Produced

Click here to see the Hagerty Report shown in the image below. 

Image Sources: mustangmonthly.com, carpictures.us, cargurus.com, netcarshow.com

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Bullitt Ford Mustang Fastback Original Hot Hatch Steve McQueen
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Andrew Adamides
Andrew Adamides
11 years ago

Mustang with a hatch, huh?

I’ll just leave this here…

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Max RSR
Max RSR
11 years ago

Love the Bullitt movie, love the Bullitt movie car. Best car chase scene on film still, far better than the silly fast and furious fake stunts.

http://www.carbuildindex.com/2588/1968-ford-mustang-bullitt-movie-tribute-car/

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Matthew Lange
Matthew Lange
11 years ago

Calling the Mustang Fastback the first Hot hatch is definitely a stretch at best, and on that basis the Jaguar E Type coupe has a hatch rear and was in production three years before the Mustang. While the Golf GTI popularised the term hot hatch, the BMW 2002 Tii Touring can perhaps have a legitimate claim as the true first hot hatch?

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Richard Love
Richard Love
11 years ago

I had a fastback in early ’65. One of the first. 289 2V, three speed. Actually traded a ’60 vette with a 283 2v and auto for it. Was getting married so we needed a bigger car. Pretty ordinary in performance but sexy as hell back then. Never thought of it as a hatchback. Still don’t.
Dick

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Dustin Rittle
Dustin Rittle
11 years ago

A hot hatch? not quite but still a beautiful beast indeed though:) you know you could order a gemlin with a v8 under the hood..sounds more like a hot hatch then this mustang

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JB21
JB21
11 years ago

“the original hot hatch”? Er, that’s pushing it a bit too far, don’t you think?

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Future Doc
Future Doc
11 years ago
Reply to  JB21

Agree, not a hot hatch. The GTI is the original unless you could consider a hot Mini the first. Claiming the ‘stang as the first hot hatch is kinda like calling Elvis the King of Hip-hop. Anyway, the ‘Vette had a extended rear in 1963 if you are only looking for that design look from a US car (sans Hatch).

A hot hatch is an economy car (hatchback) with a small displacement turned “hot”. Not a large displacement pony car redesigned.

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Daniel Kelly
Daniel Kelly
11 years ago

A feature on my hobby car of choice! I have a ’68 Fastback that I’m slowly working towards making a reliable driver. The body/paint was already in pretty good shape when i bought it, so It’s mainly been under the hood work. If I just set aside the weekends (and the money), I could probably have it daily driveable in less than a month, but alas, life is busy. Right now it’s mainly just a good weather, weekend cruiser.

It’s wild to me how much the fastbacks have gone up in cost over the last 10 years. This is actually my second ’68. I got the first in ’99-00 for less than half of what i paid for my current one, and they were honestly in pretty comparable conditions. I blame Eleanor.

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Daniel Kelly
Daniel Kelly
11 years ago
Reply to  Daniel Kelly

And, because why not, here’s my current love:

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Daniel Kelly
Daniel Kelly
11 years ago
Reply to  Daniel Kelly

Or maybe not 🙁

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Daniel Kelly
Daniel Kelly
11 years ago
Reply to  Daniel Kelly

Last comment: There should be a way to delete comments.

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