EVERY MAN’S SPORTS CAR
EVERY MAN’S SPORTS CAR
HARDTOP
Lee Iacocca called it the “Mona Lisa look.” A profile photo of a white hardtop, used extensively in early advertising, dramatized the 1965 Mustang’s long-hood (“Implies there’s a lot of engine under there,” said one Ford executive) and short-rear-deck styling with a formal roofline (very similar in shape to the earlier Lincoln Continental), a look that implied high style and luxury. In truth, most 1965–66 Mustang hardtops were delivered as low-cost base models with a six-cylinder engine and three-speed manual transmission. Without them, Mustang would not have topped 1 million sales in less than two years. Nearly 70 percent of 1965–73 Mustangs were hardtops, also known as “coupes” or “notchbacks.”
During 1969–73, the hardtop earned its luxury reputation by becoming the foundation for the Grande, a model that packaged a soft-riding suspension, extra insulation, and Deluxe interior with woodgrain trim, cloth high-back bucket seats, and a console. During the 1974–78 Mustang II years, the top-of-the-line Mustang was the hardtop Ghia, named after an Italian design company and the epitome of Iacocca’s vision for his smaller Mustang—European elegance with a half vinyl roof, opera window, and crushed velour upholstery.
Although Ford abandoned traditional Mustang styling cues during the 1979–93 Fox-body era, the hardtop soldiered on as the base model. Most buyers drove away from Ford dealerships in low-priced base models with four-cylinder power, while the Ghia continued to offer European-type luxury. An available carriage roof added a convertible-top look. Starting in 1986, performance enthusiasts knew to choose the LX 5.0-liter hardtop for its low cost and lighter weight. For police pursuit duty, a Special Service Package hardtop supplied a 5.0-liter engine, fluid coolers, single-key locks, and unique equipment such as silicone hoses and a heavy-duty alternator.
With the Mustang’s 1994 redesign, the hardtop became more of a coupe when the formal shape was replaced by a retro fastback look.
EVERY MAN’S SPORTS CAR
CONVERTIBLE
For many in 1964, the lasting image of the Mustang was a white convertible driven in the Swiss Alps by a beautiful blonde. The James Bond film Goldfinger, released in September 1964, featured the Mustang in a scene with actress Tania Mallet’s convertible dueling with Sean Connery’s Aston Martin, a chase that ended when 007’s wheel spinners popped out to shred the Mustang’s rear tire.
In the 1960s, nearly every car line offered a convertible, even Ford’s economy-based Falcon. The Mustang’s sporting demeanor was ideal for top-down fun, and the hardtop’s formal roofline lent itself well to an attractive convertible model with the top up. For the first four months of 1964 production, the 1965 Mustang was available only as a hardtop or convertible, which had manual up/down operation, power assist optional. By 1973, the Mustang was the only Ford available as a convertible.
The convertible disappeared during the 1974–78 Mustang II era; open-top driving was reduced to a sunroof or, starting in 1977, a T-top hatchback. As the Mustang emerged from ten years of emission and safety priorities, Ford took extreme measures to bring back the convertible for 1983 by sending roofless hardtops to nearby Cars and Concepts for conversion into GT or GLX convertibles. At least the convertible was back.
The 1994 redesign for the Fox-body was particularly good for the Mustang convertible. The new wedge-shaped body provided a sleek top-down appearance, enhanced by a top that stacked deeper into the body. Mass dampener technology was also employed to cancel out the cowl shake that had plagued the 1983–93 convertibles.
Delayed several months, the arrival of the 2005 Mustang convertible, based on the new S197 platform, was treated like a separate launch and lauded as the best top-down model ever, with a stiffer chassis and less wind buffeting at speed. The all-new 2015 convertible was upgraded with a cloth top, quicker up-and-down operation, and a single-lever latching system.
EVERY MAN’S SPORTS CAR
FASTBACK
Initially, Ford planned to offer the 1965 Mustang in two body styles, hardtop and convertible. But when designer Gale Halderman, who had sketched the original Mustang shape, proposed a fastback in May 1962, the sloping roof was added to the Mustang lineup. Introduced in September 1965, five months after the hardtop and convertible, the “2+2” featured functional air-extracting C-pillar louvers and fold-down rear seats that opened into the trunk for stowing golf or skis. The fastback was perfect for Ford’s Total Performance marketing campaign, especially when equipped with the 289 High Performance (Hi-Po) or GT Equipment Group. Hi-Po fastbacks were also the starting point for Shelby American’s GT350s.
With the 1967–68 redesign, the fastback’s roofline extended from the top of the windshield to the rear panel. Later, Ford marketed the more muscular 1969–70 fastback as the SportsRoof, with its roofline ending at the rear panel with a built-in ducktail spoiler. The SportsRoof was the body style for Mustang supercar models, including the Mach 1, Boss 302, and Boss 429. Popular SportsRoof options included a trunk-mounted rear spoiler and Sport Slats, also known as rear window louvers, that covered the large rear glass to provide some relief from the sun.
The SportsRoof continued for the larger 1971–73 Mustang, becoming more of a “flatback” with a huge rear window that was angled so much that some described the view from the interior as a “mail slot.”
The fastback was replaced by the hatchback during the Mustang II and early Fox-body generations. Starting with the 1994 SN-95’s hybrid hardtop/fastback roofline, “coupe” became Ford’s preferred description instead of fastback. However, the fastback name returned for the 2015 Mustang to describe the roofline that closely resembled the 1969–70 SportsRoofs.
EVERY MAN’S SPORTS CAR
OPTIONS AND ACCESSORIES
Long before it had a name, Ford’s sporty compact had a goal as established by Lee Iacocca’s Fairlane Committee in late 1961: “one basic car with many available options.” “Designed to be designed by you” was the marketing theme to describe the first American car offered as a base model—with standard items such as bucket seats and carpet—but with a long list of available extra-cost equipment. Radio announcers read from Ford’s advertising copy: “You can tailor your Mustang to your own personal needs and tastes with a choice of options previously unprecedented in a car with this low price.”
At its introduction on April 17, 1964, the base Mustang came with a six-cylinder engine and three-speed manual transmission. From there, buyers could choose from numerous options, including V-8 engines, automatic or four-speed transmissions, an AM/FM or AM/eight-track radio, various wheel covers, and air conditioning, plus nearly fifty dealer-installed accessories such as a rear seat speaker, sun visor vanity mirror, and remote control trunk release, even a tissue dispenser. The number and variety of body styles, exterior color choices, options, and accessories allowed buyers to make their Mustang their own.
Ford simplified the option selection during the late 1980s by curtailing separate options and grouping many together as Preferred Equipment Packages (PEP). For example, PEP 249A for the GT added air conditioning, Power Equipment Group (windows, door locks, and so on), speed control, and an AM/FM/cassette stereo with Premium Sound. During the S197 era, Mustangs were available in Standard, Deluxe, and Premium models, each with its own package of upgrades. For the 2015 and later Mustangs, EcoBoost and GT models were available in Premium trim that added heated and cooled leather seats and a nine-speaker stereo. An available 401A Equipment Group upgraded to Shaker Pro Audio and other features. High-tech options such as Electronic Line-Lock and Selectable Drive Modes were unheard of in 1964.
EVERY MAN’S SPORTS CAR
ECONOMY
In its most basic utilitarian form, and true to its Falcon heritage, the Mustang was an economy compact with a sports car body. Early advertising promoted the $2,368 suggested retail price for a standard hardtop with a 170-cubic- inch six-cylinder, three-speed manual transmission, and black sidewall tires. And although the 170 was replaced by a 200-cubic-inch version for 1966, the inline six-cylinder offered good fuel economy combined with peppy performance. It would serve as the Mustang’s base engine until 1971, when it was replaced by a larger 250-cubic-inch inline-six to power the larger and heavier 1971–73 Mustangs.
Ford’s “right car at the right time” slogan would prove perfect for the 1974 Mustang II. When the OPEC oil embargo in the fall of 1973 sent fuel prices soaring, the smaller, lighter Mustang II was already in showrooms with a standard 2.3-liter four-cylinder or available 2.8-liter V-6. And although the two-barrel 302-cubic-inch V-8 returned in 1975, the Mustang II’s fuel efficiency was the primary reason that Ford sold over 1.1 million during its five-year production span.
By the late 1970s, it was obvious that fuel prices would never return to less than 30 cents per gallon as in the 1960s. Ford responded with the 1979 Mustang’s slanted front end and lower hood line for improved aerodynamics and resulting fuel savings at speed. Even as a new 5.0-liter High Output signaled a return to performance in 1982, Ford was bragging about the 2.3-liter four-cylinder’s 32 miles per gallon.
Performance enthusiasts were concerned about the switch to fuel injection for 1986, but it would prove to be the best thing that could have happened for both Mustang horsepower and fuel economy. By 2013, the supercharged Shelby GT500 was tuned for 662 horsepower and 24 miles per gallon on the highway, good enough to avoid the government’s dreaded gas-guzzler tax.
EVERY MAN’S SPORTS CAR
HATCHBACK
A new kind of fastback debuted for the 1974 Mustang II. Called “3-Door 2+2” by Ford, the latest hatchback body style took advantage of the sloping roofline by adding a large swing-up rear door for much-improved access to the interior. The Mustang’s first-time use of hydraulic lifts held the big door open for loading and unloading. There was no enclosed trunk, but with the rear seat back folded down, the Mustang II hatchback offered 27 cubic feet of storage space, enough for “golf clubs or scuba gear,” according to the sales brochure. The hatchback was also the body style of choice for Mustang II performance image models, including the Mach 1, 1976–78 Cobra II, and 1978 King Cobra.
The hatchback continued into the Fox-body era, starting as a 1979 “Three Door” (also called “Third Door Liftgate”) for 32.4 cubic feet of storage with the rear seat back folded down. The 1979 Cobra was based on the hatchback, while the 1979 Pace Car’s front air dam and rear spoiler previewed the race car look that would appear on the 1982 GT. An aero nose, lower side scoops, and louvered taillights gave the GT hatchback a totally new appearance from 1987 to 1993. The high-tech 1984–86 SVO was also based on the hatchback, one with the Mustang’s only use of a dual-plane rear spoiler.
With the Mustang’s major redesign for 1994, the hatchback was discontinued, having served its practical purpose for the twenty years spanning 1974 to 1993.
EVERY MAN’S SPORTS CAR
MODERN COUPE
After nearly a decade and a half, the Mustang hatchback was replaced in 1994 by a more traditional coupe as part of the major SN-95 overhaul. But it was not the formal-shaped roof like previous Mustangs. With Mustang body style choices reduced from three to two—coupe and convertible—the new coupe roofline sloped downward toward the trunk with a C pillar and stationary side window that mimicked the 1967–68 Mustang fastbacks. It was not a true hardtop nor a true fastback. The new roof sat on the SN-95’s wedge-shaped body and was not integrated into the rear quarter panels.
The SN-95 coupe roof looked very much like a convertible’s removable hardtop. In fact, Ford offered a removable hardtop for the 1995 SVT Cobra convertible. With the top installed, the convertible looked just like a hardtop. It was an expensive option; as a result, only 499 were sold.
For the 2005 Mustang coupe, Ford kept the hybrid hardtop/fastback look with a slightly more sloped roofline and C pillars that once again flowed into the rear quarter panels as part of the overall stronger body structure. Addressing one of the Mustang’s longtime negatives, the S197 coupe roof added 1/2 inch to the front seat headroom. A body update for 2010 incorporated Ford’s New Edge styling, but the roof would remain the same throughout the S197’s fourteen-year production span.
From the rear, the new 2015 Mustang coupe recalled the fastbacks of the 1960s with a sleeker roofline that merged into an angled rear panel with tri-lens taillights. In fact, Ford dropped the coupe designation to bring back the fastback description for the first time since 1968.
GLOSSARY: EVERY MAN’S SPORTS CAR
Carriage roof: A type of automotive roof styling designed to give the appearance of a convertible. It was available for the 1980 Mustang hardtop.
Cars and Concepts: An automotive subcontractor that converted 1983 Mustang hardtops into convertibles, making them the first top-down Mustangs since 1973.
Convertible: A body style with a top that folds back or retracts to provide open cockpit driving.
Ducktail spoiler: As found on the 1969–70 Mustang SportsRoofs, a type of built-in rear air-foil with an upswept design to add more aerodynamic downforce to the rear of the car at speed.
Fastback: A roof style that slopes toward the rear of the car to give an appearance of sleek aerodynamics.
Hardtop: The most popular type of roof for American automobiles, typically found on two- and four-door vehicles and also described as coupe or notchback. It was usually the base body style for the Mustang.
Hatchback: A body style with a “third door” that opened from the rear for access to the interior’s rear storage area.
Light bar: An aftermarket bar created for Mustang convertibles by Classic Design Concepts. Not designed for structural or safety purposes, it was more for aesthetics and described as a light bar due to its third brake light.
OPEC: The Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries, which initiated an oil embargo in October 1973 right after the introduction of the smaller and more fuel-efficient 1974 Mustang II.
Opera window: Small porthole-size windows installed in vehicle C-pillars to imply luxury. They were popular in the 1970s and used for Ghia hardtops during the Mustang II era.
T-Top: A type of roof with a removable panel on each side. Offered for Mustangs during the Mustang II and Fox-body eras.
Velour: A fabric with a pile or napped surface to resemble velvet, commonly used for automotive upholstery in the 1970s for a luxurious feel and look.