10 Ford Mustang Concepts That Shaped The 10 Millionth Mustang

10 Ford Mustang Concepts That Shaped The 10 Millionth Mustang

The design that started the legacy is certainly familiar, but that鈥檚 not a galloping horse in the grille. Ford held a design contest in the early 1960s for what would become the Mustang, but the winning shape was originally called the Cougar. We know the story from there, as the Mustang launched to considerable fanfare in 1964 and the Mercury Cougar would follow three years later. The original Mustang wasn鈥檛 much of a performance car, even by 1960鈥檚 standards. But in 1965, Carroll Shelby created the first true go-fast variant in the form of the Shelby GT350. The original prototype didn鈥檛 stray much from the factory formula; an extra 35 horses were added to the 289 cid V8, and steering speed was improved by 14 percent. Shelby rolled out a limited run of 513 Shelby Mustangs in 1965, but it wasn鈥檛 until 1966 that the performance-oriented pony cars got the recognition they deserved. Hitting the auto show circuits in 1966, this concept Mustang clearly showed where the first-generation design was headed. The rectangular headlights weren鈥檛 used, and thankfully the massive side scoops didn鈥檛 make it to production either.

This curious roadster was based on one of the original Mustang concepts from 1962 that was rejected. Just as the 1967 Mach I concept previewed what was to come, so did the 1970 Mustang Milano concept. Sort-of anyway - it debuted at the 1970 Chicago Auto Show with its extremely raked rear deck and stretched nose, elements which would appear on the 1971-1973 Mustangs. There are shades of Ford Torino in the style as well, and Max Max fans will also see a striking similarity to the Australian-market 1973 Ford Falcon XB. We all know Ford took its Pony Car in a completely different direction for 1974, and though it was extremely popular in the context of the 1970s, time hasn鈥檛 been kind to the second-generation Mustang. This targa-roof concept might have helped that a bit. Built from a pre-production 1974 model, this two-seater looks worlds better than the standard Mustang II. Did you know Ford once considered taking the Mustang into the world of stage rally?

This RSX concept was designed by Ghia and incorporated styling cues from the recently released third-generation Fox Body Mustang in 1979. The wheelbase was a bit shorter with a touch more ride height to handle European rally stages. It's certainly one of the more futuristic Mustang designs we've seen, and how about those DeLorean-esque side windows? At the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show, Ford handed over the designer鈥檚 pen to Italdesign Giugairo to create a unique vision of the Mustang. Fabrizio Giugairo, Giorgetto鈥檚 son, came up with this sharp-edged take for a pony car of the future. With a fifth-gen Mustang as a starting point, Giugairo tweaked every body panel in a way that accentuated the length of the hood and added brawnier fenders. Scissor doors and a glass roof created visual flourishes, too. A retro-inspired interior featured a pair of big, circular gauges and a bizarre, T-shaped gearshift. The horsehide upholstery was a step too far, though. We did a whole feature on this single concept, and it's definitely worth a read to learn more about this unique bit of Mustang history. It's been a long, crazy road for Ford's Pony Car. Ford鈥檚 10 million milestone with the Mustang is no small feat. With such pomp and circumstance, we got to talking about some of the Mustang concept cars we鈥檝e seen over the years, and there鈥檚 been a lot of them. Here鈥檚 a neat look at 10 of those concepts that are indelibly linked to the Mustang鈥檚 long history.

The 1993 Villager (a name used from Mercury's 1960s and 1970s station wagon lines) was developed in a joint venture with Nissan; it was assembled in the United States by Ford with a Nissan Quest front-wheel drive powertrain. Although more successful than other Japanese-designed minivans, the Villager struggled to compete with the far larger Ford Windstar. Like its Aerostar and Windstar counterparts, the Villager was initially designed without a driver's side sliding door. When one was added in 1999, the minivan segment (as a whole) had begun to decline in sales. In the mid-1990s, mid-size sport-utility vehicles began increasing in popularity for use as family vehicles. Although Mercury was not the first nameplate to introduce a SUV (following the Range Rover and the Oldsmobile Bravada), the 1997 Mercury Mountaineer was among one of the first to popularize luxury SUVs. Based on the Ford Explorer, the Mountaineer had a standard V8 (at first) and all-wheel drive instead of four-wheel drive.