7 Little Known Mustang Facts
Think you know everything about the Mustang? Here are some lesser known facts you might not be aware of.
1. The Original Was Almost as Fast as an F1 Car
Ford put a lot of hours and a lot of time into designing the Mustang, and the results speak for themselves. Originally, the Blue Oval saw Chevrolet's rear-engine Corvair as a performance target, so they set out to beat it. But when legendary race car driver Dan Gurney hopped behind the wheel of a working prototype, things went better than expected. Gurney proceeded to lap Watkins Glen in a time that was only a couple of seconds slower than Formula 1 cars of the era.
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2. Styling Was Allegedly Influenced by an Alfa Romeo
Have you ever looked at an Alfa Romeo 1900 CSS and thought, that looks kinda like a Mustang? If you squint a little bit, you might see a few resemblances between the two, particularly from the side view. The Mustang design team admitted that they drew inspiration for the pony car's design from the Ghia-bodied Alfa. Coincidentally, which might also have something to do with Ford's purchase of the design firm later down the road.
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3. It Wasn't Always Going to Be Called the Mustang
Ford thought about naming their new pony car Panther, Torino, and Cougar. There's even a slew of photos of prototypes wearing Cougar badges in place of the familiar Mustang, as you can see above. After conducting some extensive market research, they wisely chose to go with Mustang. But those Cougar bits obviously still got some use on Ford's Mercury-badged brother.
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4. Ford Almost Made a Mustang Station Wagon
Back in the mid 60's, Ford made a mock up clay model of a Mustang station wagon. They even went on to build two working prototypes. Despite the efforts, Ford never built a Mustang wagon. But you still see one every once in a while at local car shows, thanks to aftermarket conversions.
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5. Ford Tinkered Around With the Design - a Lot
Aside from toying around with badges and model names, Ford explored a ton of different designs before settling on the one we know so well today. For a while, they thought about using oval shaped taillights, and the iconic grille emblem faced from left to right. The production 'Stang supposedly switched to a "right to left" facing badge as a nod to the Old West and the freedoms it brought us.
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6. Early Shelby Fog Lights Look Cool, but Caused Problems
Ever wonder why early Shelby Mustangs had fog lights that were close together at the center of the grille, yet later models had them spaced out to the edges? Turns out, that wasn't just a styling exercise. Apparently placing two fog lights right in front of the radiator restricted air flow, which in turn caused some overheating issues.
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7. Parking Issues Inspired the ASC/McLaren
To celebrate the new Fox-body Mustang, Ford built 11 McLaren versions back in 1981. In 1982, engineer Peter Muscat came up with the idea for a convertible version after his wife, a Ford employee, was told she couldn't park her Mercedes SL in the parking lot. Muscat proceeded to chop the top off a 1980 coupe and made it into a 2 seat convertible. ASC liked the idea so much they teamed up with McLaren, and the resulting car featured a soft top that folded under a hardcover - just like the Mercedes SL.
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