Perhaps no motorcar in history embodies the American spirit as well as Ford's Mustang. A smash hit from Day One, April 17, 1964, the Mustang remains a coveted youth car, even though--officially--the little horse has turned 40.

The name is romantic. The image is as all-American as a Gary Cooper western. The Mustang is a spirited, wild horse of the great American West. You just want to rope one and hop on bareback for a rowdy ride across the wide open spaces at breakneck speeds.

It's hard to imagine today the impact of that first Mustang of 40 years ago. At the time, there were precious few small American cars and fewer still with sporty bodies. There was the Corvette. But it was a 2-passenger sports car and fairly expensive. Chevy also had the Corvair. But it wasn't as domesticated with its rear-mounted engine and no V8 option. And Ford's Falcon was strictly economy, no flash yet.

So a small group of men at Ford--including Donald Frey (Senior Product Planning Manager), Hal Spurlich, Donald Petersen and Lee Iacocca (General Manager of Ford Division)--began meeting informally after-hours at the Fairlane Inn on Michigan Ave. in Dearborn to discuss a sporty new Ford. Convincing board members to approve another new car line of the "risk sort" was a tough call on the heels of the disastrous Edsel. But Iacocca pulled off the sell and became the "financial father" of the Mustang.

Frey admits the company's widely circulated market research was made up after the car was approved in order to sanctify the investment to stockholders. Also, despite the corporate hoopla of choosing from a long list of possible names, Iacocca's group called the new sporty Ford "Mustang" right from the start. It fit so well. Mustang is just so doggone all-American. Over the last 40 years, the running-horse Mustang logo has become an icon recognized the world over.

Generation 1, (1964-1/2 to 1973)
Early in 1962, Frey asked the styling department to try and rework the old Thunderbird tooling from 1955-57 to look like "anything modern." Fitted on a Falcon chassis, the experimental "XT-Bird" didn't look right because the reworked tooling looked like, well, reworked tooling.

Iacocca added his 2 cents to come up with a totally new bodystyle. The winning design, dated "8-16-62" in file photos, came out of a 2-week competition between Lincoln-Mercury, Ford and Corporate (Advance) Projects, three studios in the historic oval Design Center in Dearborn. Joe Oros was head of the Ford Studio, which won. Three design elements defined the shape. One was the high-mounted grille with the running horse, a la Ferrari. Two was a set of air intakes in front of the rear wheels. Three, Oros says, was a "personal Thunderbird-like greenhouse in a sporty 4-seater configuration." (Greenhouse is designer-speak for the glass enclosure of a car.)

When Iacocca made the rounds of the studios, at his stop, Oros remembers, "I could tell Lee was pleased by the sparkle in his eye and the way his cigar rolled around in his mouth." The engineering department held costs down by adapting Falcon components, starting with the unit-body construction. The suspension was pretty much the same, too.

Frey recalls, "We did the car on the cheap, basing it on the Falcon and using many common components. We also tried to keep it simple because we wanted to maintain the Falcon's reliability. And it was a happy car, easy to develop and build, one of those once-in-a-lifetime things where everything went together right the first time in spite of the short 27-month gestation period." Dealers accepted more than 22,000 orders the first day, April 17, 1964. There were two bodystyles, convertible and coupe. Ford made sure to display prominently in its advertising the base price of $2368, not much more than a VW Beetle.

Mustangs came with bench seats and a floor console. Also standard was an inline 6-cylinder with a 3-speed manual transmission. Ford's new thin-wall-cast, small-block V8--initially 260 cu. in., then 289--was optional, along with a Cruise-O-Matic transmission and overdrive. With a long list of options and accessories, the Mustang--an economy car in base form--could be configured into a luxury car, a sporty car, even a family car with the bench seat option. The 2-car family was becoming common, and women saw the Mustang as a sporty choice, easy to drive and park, and something they'd look good in. Sales took off. By spring 1966, a million Mustangs were running on America's streets.

Ford held back the fastback until the official start of the 1965 model year in the fall of '64. Top brass wanted to make sure the car would sell. In August 1964, Iacocca asked the legendary Carroll Shelby to develop a high-performance Mustang for the street and track at his small shop in Venice, Calif. The task ahead was daunting: turn the Mustang, basically an economy Falcon under the skin, into a Corvette-beater in B-production Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) road racing.

The new fastback, a 2+2, was at Shelby's disposal, along with Ford's brand-new small block. (The 289 was the same engine Shelby developed for his Cobra roadster.) Ol' Shel divided production into GT-350 street and competition Mustangs. Factory backed, the racing GT-350 steamrolled the competition, including the Corvette. Also in 1964, his Cobra won the world manufacturer's championship, humbling Ferrari in Europe. Ford's "Total Performance" racing campaign, initiated in the summer of '62, eclipsed Mercedes-Benz's effort of 1955. Mustang was a huge part of this crusade to interest the youth of America, mostly baby boomers.

Soon, Mustang had imitators because the market was so large. For '67, Chevrolet introduced its Camaro, Pontiac the Firebird and Mercury the Cougar. For '68, AMC got into the act with the Javelin. Then Plymouth had the Barracuda and Dodge the Challenger for 1970. These were the "ponycars."

Through 1973, Ford restyled the Mustang every few years and upped the displacement and horsepower ratings of the V8 options. The first restyle was for 1967, which produced a wider chassis able to hold a big-block V8, the 390. The 428 Cobra Jet debuted on April 1, 1968, and was underrated at 335 hp to slide the car down into the Super Stock class in NHRA drag-racing competition. Mustang "put everybody on the trailer" at the Winternationals event in Pomona, Calif.

Year by year, Shelby continued to produce the highest-performance Mustangs in Ford's stable. The GT-350, a small block, was joined in '67 by a GT-500, a big block. Stock Mustangs had 390s, so Shelby dropped in dual-quad (carburetor) Police Interceptor 428s. In '68, Shelby added the convertible. Hottest of all was the GT-500 KR, for King Of The Road, powered by the new 428 Cobra Jet.

Mustang's second restyling came in '69 and was continued through 1970. Although the straight Six/3-speed remained standard, the horsepower race was in full bloom. When Ford needed to homologate its new 429 Hemi for NASCAR, the engineers chose a special run of Boss 429 Mustangs, all fastbacks. In spring 1969, Ford introduced the Boss 302, also a fastback, built to homologate cars in Trans Am road racing. For 1969 and '70, Shelbys remained in the lineup with fastback and convertible GT-350s and GT-500s.

In 1971, with the next restyling, Shelbys were gone. Basically, they were too pricey and not selling well. You could get the same or more performance for thousands less in the regular Mustang line with any of the Cobra Jets. The Boss series had even higher performance and had been carrying Ford's colors on the race track while Shelbys went boulevard cruising. But don't count Carroll Shelby out just yet.

In 1971, the Boss 302 was replaced by a Boss 351. In the regular lineup, Ford prepared for gargantuan V8s. The 429 had been too wide to fit the stock engine bay of a 1969-70 Mustang. For this reason, the '71 model was longer, lower and wider. The 428 CJ was replaced by a Cobra Jet version of the regular wedge-head 429 (not the Hemi-head Boss 429 engine, which was dropped). The 429 CJ pumped out 370 hp. Dual ram-air induction through "NASA"-style scoops was optional.

In 1972, tough federal emissions standards shot down the high-compression V8s. Ford dropped the 429 Cobra Jet at a time when Ford was planning big-block V8s of more than 500 cu. in. The Boss 351 had to be detuned and became the 351 High Output, running on regular-grade fuel. In 1973, for the first time, Ford did not restyle the Mustang after two model years. Iacocca pushed for a smaller Mustang, more like the original. The convertible was billed as Ford's last.

Generation 2, (1974-1978)
For 1974, Mustang became the Mustang II (that's Roman numeral 2). Essentially, Ford started over. Its Mustang had strayed too far from the original. Iacocca, who took over as President of Ford Division in 1970 when ponycar sales were in a dramatic decline, laid out the design parameters. The new Mustang would be small and sporty, riding on a wheelbase of 96 to 100 in. It would be a coupe or a fastback. Convertible sales had trailed off to almost nothing, so why bother?

The Mustang II became the right car for the times following the gas crunch in '73. Ford's timing was perfect. Iacocca's "Little Jewel" became a smash hit. First-year sales totaled 385,993--pretty close to the 418,812 Mustangs sold from April 17, 1964 to April 17, 1965. A 2.3-liter Four was standard and a 2.8-liter Six optional. The public saw Mustang as an economy choice sharing underpinnings with the ill-fated Pinto. For the first model year ever, Mustang had no V8 option. The Mach 1 was emasculated.

For '75, the V8 crept back into the lineup, but tire-burning performance was long gone. For '76, there was a Cobra II, which was mostly a graphics package with a sporty interior. Buyers wanted a really hot 'Stang, which was the car's heritage. The King Cobra offered in 1978, the last year of the Mustang II, was even hotter looking than the Cobra II. But its 302-cu.-in. V8 was still an anemic 2-barrel rated at 139 hp. The only way to get a hot Mustang was to modify one on your own. At least Ford kept the rear-drive/front-engine layout.

Generation 3, (1979-1993)
Gen 3 styling was more corporate and less "Mustangy," as aerodynamics, for the first time, played a major role in shaping the body. The long hood was less pronounced, gently sloping down from a high-mounted cowl. There was no galloping horse in the grille until the '93 Cobra. Mustang's familiar simulated rear-quarter scoops were missing, too. Yet, the new shape inspired passion in the Mustang troops.

The Mustang now shared a chassis with Ford's Fairmont and Mercury's Zephyr, but with a twist. This Fox chassis had already been designed for the Fairmont/Zephyr introduction of the previous year to meet Mustang's future sporty needs. For the first time, Mustang used a MacPherson-strut front suspension with coil springs front and rear.

The layout continued to be rear-wheel drive with the engine in front. Standard was the 2.3-liter Four, with an optional V6 and V8, the same as 1978. The new offering was a turbocharged version of the 4-cylinder. By the middle of the year, the old 200-cu.-in. inline Six was replaced by a V6.

Mustang paced the Indy 500 for the first time since 1964. Collectors squirreled away 1979 pace car replicas. The feeling was that performance was on the mend. Then, in 1980, Ford replaced the 302 with an anemic 4.2-liter V8 and enthusiasts gagged.

For 1982, Ford brought back the GT version with a fairly hot 5.0-liter (302-cu.-in.) V8. The 157-hp 5.0, in 2-barrel tune, was seen as a 1-year-wonder musclecar. Magazines then reported that the 5.0 GT would not be back. But the V8's demise was greatly exaggerated. The 5.0-liter GT came back for 1983 and the 4.2-liter was dropped. Power improved from 157 hp to 175 hp. The carmakers were finally getting over the hump on emissions standards, greatly facilitated by the 3-way catalytic converter. Adding to the fun, Ford brought back the convertible in 1983. It gambled on Mustang's hot-rod future with a turbocharged 4-cylinder, in the Turbo GT, followed by the higher output SVO model of 1984-86.

Model year 1985 was the final one for the 4-barrel GT. Fuel injection was another boon to both performance and fuel efficiency. The Mustang GT became the most popular musclecar out of Detroit. Horsepower ratings grew to 225 by 1987. The GT became the ubiquitous "Five-Oh" Mustang of Generation X. In the '93 Cobra Mustang, the 5.0-liter reached 245 hp. Collectors snapped up the 107 Cobra R models for 1993, which were built for Showroom Stock racing yet were sold street-legal by Ford dealers.

Generation 4, (1994-2004)
As much as enthusiasts loved the hot GT Mustang, by the mid-1980s reality was closing in on the great American ponycar. The suits in Dearborn believed this small specialty segment should be front-wheel drive with 4-cylinder power. So Ford, in a joint venture with Mazda, developed such a car code-named ST16. In 1986, word hit the streets about this "Maz-Stang," and more than 30,000 letters of protest hit Ford's world headquarters. A teenage boy wrote, "If you change the rear-wheel drive, V8-powered Mustang, you will destroy the Mustang's image." A teenage girl wrote, "I definitely want to save the Mustang. I am 15 and my goal is to own a Mustang GT. In my opinion, they are the best-looking cars on the road. The GT is in prime form and its retirement should not occur."

ST-16 became the Probe and Ford just kept making the lovable "box," putting off a new-generation Mustang year after year. But the executives would have to make a decision by 1994, the year the government required supplemental restraint systems (airbags).

So a group of nine "Skunkworks" Ford employees, headed by John Coletti (Engineering Design Manager) saved the Mustang. They met at 4 pm on Thursdays in building #3 of the Engineering Center. They set up Team Mustang off the premises strictly to work on a new ponycar.

SN-95 was the code name for the fourth generation, the 1994 Mustang. Skunkworks declared that it had to look like a Mustang, not like the other jellybean cars on the road. They wanted to go back to the original styling cues of a long hood and short rear deck, simulated side scoops and the tri-bar taillamps. Layout would continue as rear-wheel drive with a 6-cylinder standard and a V8 optional. The 5.0-liter V8 became a carryover. The Four was deemed a weakness and dropped altogether.

Team Mustang wanted to replace the dated Fox platform and start fresh. But when its clean sheet of paper started looking a whole lot like what it already had, Team Mustang decided to strengthen the old Fox platform. The result was "Fox-4," for Fox, 1994.

Two model offerings, a base Mustang and the GT, went on sale--each with the choice of a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission. The '94 Mustang paced the Indy 500. Then, Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) built a special run of Rio Red Cobra convertibles featuring a warmed-over 302 V8 developing 240 hp. These came standard with a 5-speed gearbox, special suspension, unique 17-in. wheels and a prominent front fascia. Like the 1979 pace car, a number of limited-edition replicas were sold and the convertible gained a coupe counterpart later in the year.

For the next 10 model years, Mustang continued to build a performance theme. The 1995s saw the return of an R Cobra featuring a 300-hp 351-cu.-in. V8 capable of propelling the car to high-13-sec. passes at 106 mph in the quarter-mile. And the removable hardtop for the Cobra convertible was offered this one year.

For 1996, Ford replaced the sacred Five-Oh with a single-overhead-camshaft (SOHC) 4.6-liter modular V8 mated to two new transmissions: the T-45, which was a 5-speed manual, and the Lincoln 4R70W 4-speed automatic. An optional all-aluminum, double-overhead-cam (DOHC) V8 boosted power to 305 hp. These engines were hand built and signed by a 2-man crew on a special assembly line.

For 1999, Mustang received a restyle. The V6 got a major boost from 150 to 190 hp. The GT, likewise, got a hotter SOHC V8 with revised camshafts, bigger valves, new intake plumbing and ignition upgrades, good for 260 hp and 302 ft.-lb. of torque. The Mustang Cobra version got an independent rear suspension and a power upgrade to 320 hp.

The big news for 2000 was the reappearance of another Cobra R, which was perhaps the highest-performance, street-legal Mustang of all time. Targeted for SCCA's Showroom Stock racing series, the new R looked ready to race with its massive chin spoiler, side exhausts and pedestal rear wing. Its 5.4-liter DOHC V8 pumped out 385 hp.

The Bullitt Mustang arrived for 2001. Based on the GT, this limited edition was a latter-day counterpart to the '68 fastback that Steve McQueen drove in the classic movie "Bullitt."

In 2003, the big news was the return of the Mach 1, featuring a shaker hood scoop for ram-air induction. In addition to many retro styling touches, the Mach 1 featured a 315-hp quad-cam Cobra engine with a revised induction system (for the ram air) and special exhaust manifolds.

The last Gen 4 is the current 2004 model, which returned with the base V6, the GT, a limited-edition Mach 1, the Cobra and a special 40th Anniversary Edition.

Generation 5, (2005 and beyond)
For Gen 5, there is no question about Mustang's survival. Ford has not toyed with the concept of what a Mustang is and what America wants, meaning rear-wheel drive and a muscular V8 in a sporty 4-seater. For inspiration, the design team looked into the past at the 1969-70 Boss, the 1967-68s and the 1965 Shelby. The result is a shape that Larry Erickson, Mustang Design Chief, declares a "modern form" and not "pure retro." The look is certainly aggressive.

Even more exciting is the new platform. Ford had no economy car with rear-wheel drive. So the starting point for Gen 5 was the DEW98 platform underpinnings of the Lincoln LS, Ford Thunderbird and Jaguar S-Type. Ford made major changes to create a chassis with double the torsional rigidity of the previous Mustang. Front/rear weight distribution improves from 57/43 percent to 52/48 percent.

Coupe and convertible bodystyles will debut for the 2005 model year in the fall. The base engine is a 202-hp 4.0-liter V6. The GT gets the 300-hp 4.6-liter V8 featuring three valves per cylinder. By mid-2005, enthusiasts can look for a supercharged SVT Cobra of more than 400 hp. Rumor has it the Shelby Mustang will also be back.

When the all-new Mustang hits dealer showrooms this fall, there's likely to be another stampede of buyers. Gen 5 is shaping up to be the most exciting Mustang since the original of 40 years ago.

1962 Mustang I
The first car to wear the Mustang name has become known as the "Mustang I." Completed in August 1962, this 1500-pound, 2-passenger sports car boasted a tubular steel space frame, an aluminum body, independent front and rear suspensions, bucket seats and front disc brakes. Side scoops directed air to a 109-hp V4 mounted behind the driver. The Mustang I was exotic and never got close to production.

1963 Mustang II
To rev up interest in the upcoming Mustang, in 1963 Ford built this show car dubbed Mustang II to display to the public. It was actually built from a production Mustang.

1967 Mach II
The Mach II was a running prototype for a proposed Shelby Cobra replacement. The Mach II was a 2-passenger model, and having a mid-engine layout would have stepped ahead of the Corvette in panache.

1968 Mach 1
Ford's Mach 1 show car, with exotic chopped-top looks, teased the public at car shows across the United States in 1968. It featured glass-covered headlights, a rear hatch, a huge red taillight board, a prominent grille and rear scoops reminiscent of the Ford GT race car.

1970 Milano
The 1970 Mustang Milano show car was a chopped 1970 fastback painted "Ultra Violet" with a large rear hatch, concealed headlights, and scoops similar to those used on the 1969 Shelby Mustang. The look was like that of the fastback, which came out in 1971.

1978 IMSA Cobra
Jim Wanger's Motortown shop, which did the Cobra II production cars, also built an IMSA Cobra racer concept inspired by Charlie Kemp's IMSA GT racer of the era.

1992 Mach III
Picking up the Mach 1/Mach II performance theme of 25 years earlier was the Mach III, an exotic 2-passenger roadster with a 450-hp 4.6-liter supercharged V8. Its shape was a hint of the retro-look Gen 4 Mustang to debut in '94. This car sold at the Christie's Auction in 2002 for $491,500.

1994 10.0-Liter Boss 429
SVT Chief Engineer John Coletti mixed old with new when he and his Special Vehicle Team dropped a Boss 429 into the retro-style '94 Mustang body. The 10.0-liter (604-cu.-in.) fuel-injected, Roush-built Boss 429 V8 produced 855 hp and 790 ft.-lb. of torque, able to produce an elapsed time of 10.55 sec. @ 135 mph in the quarter-mile.

1997 6.1-Liter Cobra R
The production Cobra R had the first 351 since the old days, 1970. And with 300 hp it could run the quarter-mile in the low 13s. SVE (Special Vehicle Engineering) turned up the flame with a stroked 5.8-liter featuring aluminum cylinder heads that generated 350 hp and 400 ft.-lb. of torque. It would have been the ultimate in street performance had it been put into production.

1998 Super Stallion
Performance was running wild early in 1998 with the arrival of the Super Stallion. The car earned its stripes. The 5.4-liter DOHC supercharged V8 produced 545 hp @ 6000 rpm and 495 ft.-lb. of torque.

2000 Bullitt
Ford's Bullitt Mustang paid homage to the Highland Green '68 GT-390 fastback that Steve McQueen drove in the movie of the same name. Its concept was introduced at the 2000 Los Angeles auto show and was put into production in 2001.

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