Search DubaiPRNetwork.com

Dubai and UAE

Tuesday, May 21, 2024/ Editor

Home >> Automobile and Motoring

Six Decades, One Icon: Looking Back to the Birth of Mustang

Six Decades, One Icon: Looking Back to the Birth of Mustang

Home >> Automobile and Motoring

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 21 May, 2024 – For more than a decade now, Ford Mustang has been the world’s best-selling sports car and racked up more than 1 million sales since going global in 2015, and more than 10 million since it was unveiled on 17 April, 1964 at the New York World’s Fair.

The Unveiling of the 1964 Ford Mustang

With its long bonnet, short deck and sporty features, Mustang hit the sweet spot and dealers were swamped with 22,000 orders on the first day of sales. We look back at the birth of a legend.

The 1964 Ford Mustang went on-sale at a price of USD$2,368, weighed 1166kg, boasted a 170-cubic-inch six-cylinder engine, three-speed, floor-mounted automatic transmission and seated four people. To say it was an instant hit is an understatement, so popular was it that when 15 people in Texas bid on the same car, the winner asked to sleep in the car overnight so that it wouldn’t be sold underneath him while his cheque cleared.

Ford predicted Mustang would sell around 100,000 cars in its first year. It racked up 417,000 sales in its first 12-months on sale, and the one millionth Mustang had been sold by 1966. It wasn’t just the real Mustang that sold up a storm, parents purchased a staggering 93,000 pedal-powered children’s Mustangs during the 1964 Christmas season.

Capturing the Spirit of a Generation: From Prototype to Global Icon

What was Mustang’s appeal? With the 15-29 age group expected to grow 40 per cent in the US (and around the world) between 1960 and 1970, Ford laid out plans for a new kind of Ford vehicle. One that would appeal to a younger generation not interested in the conservative cars their parents drove. They wanted bucket seats, floor-mounted stick shifts and high-performance engines.

Ford determined this new vehicle should be small (no longer than 180 inches), light (no heavier than 1100kg) and inexpensive (no more than USD$2500 – most vehicles started at USD$3500). Styling needed to give a nod to the low profile of the Ford Thunderbird, seat four people and be fun to drive.

The Mustang I and II prototypes were named for the legendary P-51 Mustang fighter plane from World War II, although now they’re synonymous with the wild horse, so much so they’re known as the pony car.

Unmatched Customization: The Ford Mustang Experience

Part of Mustang’s appeal was that it could be whatever the buyer wanted, from a no-frills base car to a head-banging high-performance car or even a luxury car. It boasted the longest list of options Ford had ever offered.

From its early days until now, Ford Mustang has gotten longer, lower, wider and more powerful, seen drastic styling changes, oil crises, competitors and gone from a US-only model to a global car (140-plus markets), sold in Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Asia. Throughout its 60 years on-sale, Mustang has retained its every-person appeal and popularity, staking its place at the top of the sportscar sales tree with more than one million sales globally since 2015, and around 10 million since 1964.

 

Share


Previous in Automobile and Motoring

Next in Automobile and Motoring


Home >> Automobile and Motoring Section

Latest Press Release

Ardee Announces Sales Launch of AED 70 Million Super Mansions at Fairmont Residences Al Marjan Islan ...

Hourglass cosmetics redefines the art of self-expression with the launch of an innovative eye collec ...

Emirates expands its Premium Economy offering on services to Male and Colombo

du launches Experience X internship program to empower UAE national youth

Experience Art, Adventure, and Heritage at Dubai Culture's Summer Camps 2025

DAFZ Announces Opening of Fakeeh Health's First Smart Clinic in Dubai

Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation Launches Summer Camp 2025 for Gifted Students under the Them ...

Al Masaood Automobiles Offers Exclusive First Look at 2026 Nissan Patrol NISMO Following World Premi ...

Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Pakistan's Minister of Finance discuss ways to enhance cooperation in ...

UAE Circular Economy Council discusses policies to accelerate shift to circular models and expand bi ...

Big Wins Continue with PrivilegePLUS at Mercato & Town Centre Jumeirah!

Dubai Customs hosts Sheikh Mansour bin Ibrahim Al-Mualla to discuss ways of cooperation and strength ...

Christophe Robin's Summer Travel Essentials for Good Hair Days

Dubai Municipality and Parkin sign agreement to enhance the efficiency of public parking infrastruct ...

Dubai Airports launches DXB Greet & Go: a smart, QR code-based pickup service at Terminal 3

Dubai Sports World Returns for Action-Packed August Edition

The World Between Lines and Symbols: An Interactive Art Workshop at Mohammed Bin Rashid Library

Malls Across Dubai Come Alive This DSS With Non-Stop Entertainment, Unbeatable Prizes, and Endless S ...

Emirates A350 debuts in Dammam

Emirates Post collaborates with Dream Dubai to launch AED100,000 prize campaign to celebrate UAE's Y ...