The origins of the original 1964 1/2,
101 horsepower Mustang were the humble Ford
Falcon. Officially, the car was released in
April 1964 and called a 1965 model. The true
1965 Mustang was equipped with a 200 cubic
inch, 120 horsepower 6 cylinder engine but
perhaps what made the Mustang so unique was
the ability of an owner to have the car built
and equipped exactly as they requested.
Because the components were inexpensive off-the-shelf
Ford Falcon parts, the original Mustang sold
for only $2368 US. Options included air-conditioning
at $283, three choices of V-8 engines ranging
from about $100 to $328 and performance buffs
one could order the famous Shelby GT 350 for
about $4547 and a full race version for approximately
$5950.
These early high-performance Mustang's produced
anywhere from 300 to approximately 360 gross
horsepower, propelling these cars from zero
to 60 mph in approximately 6.5 seconds and
able to reach a top speed of up to 135 miles
an hour. Today, these special high-performance Mustang's
can sell for over $100,000, and regular six
or eight cylinder Mustang convertibles can
easily bring $40,000 to $50,000. The original
Mustang was wildly popular selling a total
of 680,989 1965 units.
The regular 1965 Ford Mustang and Mustang
convertibles were not considered high-tech
for their time but the cars with a long hood
and sculptured lines looked beautiful and
because they were relatively small sporty
cars, they were fun to drive and even more
fun to own.
They can be best described as
really nice cars which were attractive in
their time and remain attractive today. A
simple, and yet timeless elegance and style.
And because they could be equipped with just
about any option, they could also be ordered
as high-performance cars, able to keep up
with some of the best European cars selling
for twice the money. Perhaps the Mustang
history is so interesting because it represents
a full circle.
In many ways, today's Mustang is more similar
to the original than ever before. The Mustang
went from a great car to a fair car to a poor
car and back to a car even greater than the
original. Join us as we follow the fine Mustang
History.