With muscle cars still as popular as ever, it’s obvious the Ford Mustang, in particular, struck a nerve with drivers. Namely, it’s the only one of the bunch to remain in production since its 1964½ debut. But it wasn’t the first Mustang. Thankfully, Ford filmed its true beginnings as a sporty mid-engined concept car in an awesome documentary.
The Mustang follows the development of, well, the Mustang, a 1961 concept car that was as far removed from the “Pony” car the world fell in love with. Instead, it was designed from the outset as a small, affordable, mid-engined race car for the road, with a lightweight 1,500-lb curb weight, a 1.5-litre V4 engine borrowed from Ford Germany, and beautifully simple styling—including a “hideaway” license plate.
It would have entered into racing classes alongside vehicles like the Sunbeam Alpine and Alfa Romeo Giulia, though those cars wouldn’t have waded into battle with a one-piece body—seats included. Past Culver City, California race car builders Troutman-Barnes (whose shop was down the street from our Petrolicious headquarters) were responsible for its aluminum construction, before the cars were handed back to Ford.
Unlike most concepts, the two Mustangs built were actually shown the the public and raced around—but that’s what this documentary is for. Enjoy!
