I don't know much about Mustangs but I think I'd recognise the car if I saw one in the street. Long and thin, right? Anyway, after this retrospective the Mustang is definitely my car of choice. Which is handy, because you can buy one in Britain right now.
1964 (101 horsepower)
The original '64 Mustang was only offered with three engines. Apparently this is a Bad Thing (genuinely thought cars only had one). Sold a million over 18 months so clearly nobody cared.
1964 (101 horsepower)
Appears in Goldfinger driven by Tilly Masterson.
Doesn't fare too well, unfortunately. Bond sabotages the car with a laser and poor Tilly is later killed by Oddjob's bowler hat.
1965 (306 horsepower)
The first high performance models, including the iconic 1965 Shelby GT 350. Made by a bloke named Carroll Shelby, destined by his moniker to be one of motor car designer, fighter pilot or lion tamer. Male "Carrolls" have limited career options.
1965 (271 horsepower)
GT K-Code Fastback (catchy name) is the premium mass produced Mustang of the time. 13,000 models are churned out, which doesn't seem very mass production to me but perhaps in 1965 that counts as a lot.
1966 (306 horsepower)
England win the World Cup! And the 1966 Shelby GT 350H is the best Mustang of the year. Whatever. More Mustangs are forthcoming. Further World Cup victories, not so much.
1967 (335 horsepower)
Shelby GT500 is part of a design revolution that sees the Mustang greatly increase in size. Features in the Nicolas Cage flick Gone In 60 Seconds, where it is called "Eleanor".
Here I could pass insightful comment on the film but I haven't seen it. Apparently it's rubbish.
1968 (335 horsepower)
The Shelby GT500KR was nicknamed "King of the Road" due to the power of its 428 Cobra Jet engine. Why "Cobra Jet"?
Cobras don't even have any legs. Bet the designers just sat around thinking of random cool words - or asked their eight-year-old sons for advice.
1968 (335 horsepower)
The Mustang GT Fastback 390 featured in the Steve McQueen film Bullitt. Nope, haven't seen it. Heard good things.
1969 (335 horsepower)
Cue even bigger Mustang named the 428 Super Cobra Jet.
Or presumably "428 Super Cobra Jet!!!" Anybody who can say that model with a straight face should hang their head in shame.
1969 (290 horsepower)
The Boss 302, which is apparently a classic model.
More "like a" than "Hugo".
1971 (330 horsepower)
Another redesign: the Boss 351 replaced the Boss 302 and Boss 429. The numerical system is confusing to say the least.
Presumably something to do with engines?
1974-78 (110 horsepower)
Oh dear, it's the Mustang II: a smaller model to counter fuel crisis and rising emissions regulations. Look at that horsepower drop. Less Super Cobra, more lackadaisical slug.
1984 - 1986 (175 horsepower)
Mustang SVO. Looks pretty hideous to my untrained eye.
Then again, it was the Eighties.
1987 (225 horsepower)
Another redesign after Ford tried to replace the Mustang with the Ford Probe. Why on Earth would anybody name anything "the Probe"? Especially something you're meant to sit in.
1993 (235 horsepower)
Oh look, the Cobra's back, along with the Cobra R.
Presumably the "R" doesn't stand for "Red". But it would be nice if it did.
1994 (240 horsepower)
Ford introduced the new Mustang Chassis and named it SN95. "What's a chassis?" he wonders. "The underpart of a motor vehicle", answers Google. Learn something new, etc.
1995 (300 horsepower)
Get ready for the Mustang SVT Cobra R (351). Only 250 were built, all sold directly to racers. Hold on twenty years and the name makes a great WiFi code.
1999 (300 horsepower)
Yet another redesign. Still not as pretty as the Sixties models. 30 years of innovation, wasted.
2000 (385 horsepower)
Return of the Cobra R (possibly for "Red"). At last Ford managed more horsepower than their 1969 highpoint. Hitting the 21st century with a vengeance.
2001 (320 horsepower)
The Mustang Bullitt pays homage to the 1968 film. Only three decades too late. Ride that zeitgeist.
2003 (390 horsepower)
Brace yourself for the Mustang SVT Cobra "Terminator".
Named "Terminator" because it would "terminate" the Camaro vs.
Mustang war. And Terminator 3 was released in 2003. But you wouldn't want any association with Terminator 3.
2005 (300 horsepower)
Fifth-generation Mustang. After the last one, Ford probably wanted a name its drivers wouldn't feel embarrassed saying aloud.
2007 (500 horsepower)
Shelby's back! Now the Mustang/Shelby GT 500. Pretty sexy, it must be said.
2012 (444 horsepower)
And now the Boss 302 makes its return. Clearly the Mustang designers realised they had been creatively bankrupt since 1969 and thought, "sod it, let's raid the old stuff."
2015 (435 horsepower)
The first Mustang to be sold globally. The name? "
Just "Mustang". Everybody at Ford is still feeling embarrassed about the whole "Cobra Terminator" fiasco.
2016 (526 horsepower)
Next year sees the release of the Shelby GT350. 526 horsepower! A whole 425 more horses than the 1964 model. That's 1700 extra hooves.
Thanks to National Numbers for the original timeline
