The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its seventh generation, it is the fifth-best selling Ford car nameplate. The namesake of the "pony car" automobile segment, the Mustang was developed as a highly styled line of sporty coupes and convertibles derived from existing model lines, initially distinguished by "long hood, short deck" proportions.
AC Cars, originally incorporated as Auto Carriers Ltd., is a British specialist automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest independent car makers founded in Britain. As a result of bad financial conditions over the years, the company was renamed or liquidated many times until its present form. In 2022, the new corporate structure began the production of new AC Cobra models, with a slightly modified structure to adapt it to modern safety and technology requirements and obtain the European road homologation certificate.
The AC Cobra, sold in the United States as the Shelby Cobra and AC Shelby Cobra, is a sports car manufactured by British company AC Cars, with a Ford V8 engine. It was produced intermittently in both the United Kingdom and later the United States since 1962.
Carroll Hall Shelby was an American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur. Shelby is best known for his involvement with the AC Cobra and Mustang for Ford Motor Company, which he modified during the late 1960s and early 2000s. He established Shelby American in 1962 to manufacture and market performance vehicles. His autobiography, The Carroll Shelby Story, was published in 1967. As a race car driver, his highlight was as a co-driver of the winning 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans entry.
Mercury Cougar is a nameplate applied to a diverse series of automobiles sold by the Mercury division of Ford from 1967 until 1997 and from 1999 through 2002 model years. While the nameplate is associated with two-door coupes, at various times during its production, the Cougar was also marketed as a convertible, four-door sedan, station wagon, and a hatchback.
The Shelby Mustang is a high-performance variant of the Ford Mustang built by Shelby American from 1965 to 1967 and by the Ford Motor Company from 1968 to 1970.
Royalex was a composite material, comprising an outer layer of vinyl and hard acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plastic (ABS) and an inner layer of ABS foam. The layers are bonded by heat treatment. It was used to manufacture durable, mid-priced canoes. Its supplier closed out production of the material in 2014.
The Ford EXP is a sports compact coupe that was produced by Ford Motor Company from 1982 to 1988. The first two-seat Ford since the original Ford Thunderbird, the EXP was derived from the American Ford Escort. In contrast to its platform counterpart, the model line was not a "world car", developed entirely for North America. For 1982 and 1983, the EXP was also sold as the Mercury LN7.
The Ford SVT Mustang Cobra is a pony car that was built by American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company's Special Vehicle Team division for the 1993 to 2004 model years.
Shelby American, Inc. is an American high performance automobile company founded by driver Carroll Shelby. The Shelby American name has been used by several legally distinct corporations founded by Shelby since his original shop in Venice, California began operation in 1962. The current iteration is a wholly owned subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International, Inc., a holding company formed in 2003. Carroll Shelby International's other wholly owned subsidiary is Carroll Shelby Licensing, which licenses the name and trademarks associated with Shelby to other companies. Shelby American was the first automobile manufacturer in the state of Nevada. Shelby American manufactures component automobiles, including replicas of the small-block and large-block AC Cobras, the Shelby GT350 and the GT500 Super Snake. Since 2005, Shelby American has released new models each year.
The Cobra was a limited edition Muscle car of the Ford Falcon released by Ford Australia in 1978. It was based on the XC Hardtop (Coupe).
In mid-February 1968, the California Ford Dealers began to market a factory-built, limited-edition Mustang, called the GT/CS, or "California Special". The hope was for a targeted production run of 5,000; however, only 4,118 were made, including 251 units that were remarketed in Denver, Colorado, as "High Country Special '68". Production ran for only 5.5 months from mid-February 1968 to early August 1968. Today, classic car collectors consider these cars to be very desirable.
Ford and several third-party companies offered many modified versions of the highly popular Mustang in order to cater to specific portions of the marketplace outside of the mainstream. High-performance enthusiasts seek more powerful, sharper handling, sports cars, while collectors and purists seek limited production and alternate or nostalgic styling, such as is commonly found on many commemorative editions. Still, others were made purely for experimental concepts such as the McLaren M81 (turbo) and SVO, which later influenced production model design. Most variants include both performance upgrades, and unique cosmetic treatments that are typically minimal to maintain the familiar appearance of a stock Mustang. Although most of these Mustang variants were aimed at enthusiasts, an exception was the Special Service Package, which was designed specifically for law enforcement.
Superformance LLC is an American automobile company that builds, designs, develops, engineers and markets sports cars, related performance components and full replicars. The company was founded as "Superformance International Inc." by Hi-Tech Automotive Ltd. in 1996. Today, Superformance has 15 authorized dealers in the United States and 6 international dealers. SPF cars are sold as "turnkey-minus replacers". In December, 2005 Hi-Tech Automotive transferred the ownership of its subsidiary, Superformance, to American Hillbank Automotive Group, which is a privately owned business of American entrepreneur Lance Stander. Hi-Tech Automotive continue to build Superformance cars at its plant in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
The first-generation Ford Mustang was manufactured by Ford from March 1964 until 1973. The introduction of the Mustang created a new class of automobiles known as the pony cars. The Mustang’s styling, with its long hood and short deck, proved wildly popular and inspired a host of competition.
The third-generation Mustang was produced by Ford from 1979 until 1993. Built on Ford’s Fox platform, it is commonly referred to as the Fox body Mustang. It evolved through several sub-models, trim levels, and drivetrain combinations during its production life. It underwent updates for the 1987 model year and seemed destined for replacement with a front-wheel drive Mazda platform. However, company executives were swayed by consumer opinion and the rear-wheel drive Mustang stayed, while the front-wheel drive version was renamed the Ford Probe. Enthusiasts group the generation into two segments: the 1979–1986 cars, with their quad headlight arrangement, and the 1987–1993 cars, with their aerodynamic composite headlamps and front fascia styling. Production ended with the introduction of the fourth-generation Mustang (SN-95) for the 1994 model year.
The fifth-generation Ford Mustang (S197) is a pony car that was manufactured by American automobile manufacturer Ford from 2004 until 2014, at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Flat Rock, Michigan. The fifth generation began with the 2005 model year, and received a facelift for the 2010 model year. Originally designed by Sid Ramnarace through late 2001 and finalized in mid-2002, the fifth-generation Mustang's design was previewed by two pre production concept cars that debuted at the 2003 North American International Auto Show. Development on the S-197 program began in 1999 under chief engineer Hau Thai-Tang, shortly after the 1998 launch of "New Edge" SN-95 facelift. From the second half of 1999, design work commenced under Ford design chief, J Mays, and concluded in July 2002 with the design freeze. There have been several variants of the fifth-generation Ford Mustang that include the Mustang GT/California Special, Shelby Mustang, Bullitt Mustang, and Boss 302 Mustang.
Eugene 'Gene' Bordinat Jr. was an American automobile designer and corporate executive.
The sixth-generation Ford Mustang (S550) is a pony car that was manufactured by Ford from 2014 until 2023. In departure from prior Mustang models, the sixth-generation Mustang included fully independent rear suspension on all models, as well as an optional 2.3L EcoBoost turbocharged and direct injected four-cylinder engine. The Mustang was introduced as a 2015 model year vehicle, marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Ford Mustang, which was revealed as a 1965 model year vehicle on April 17, 1964.
