black mamba

In 1963, Ford commissioned the design and build of this prototype of the future Mustang. Only 10 were made and they were sent around to Ford's dealer base around the country. After the tour, nine were destroyed. This one survived because the man who designed it, Vince Gardner, stole and hid it away in a secret room in a warehouse. He has guessed that Ford would destroy them all....as was a mandated Federal program at the time.

This car had a slightly shortened chassis ( compared to the following production cars ) and a 302 CI engine with triple carbs. It was configured as a 2 passenger coupe and built in fiberglass.

The insurance company ( Aetna ) paid off on the missing car. When it was discovered many months later, it became the property of Aetna. They displayed it at their corporate headquarters, outside the building, until it was sold. The second buyer, who acquired the car after Aetna sold the first time, was the one showing it at this event.

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UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Great machine, Tom! Thanks for sharing.

13 Loc: I am only responsible to what I say..not what

I had the 1964 1/2 model and it drove like the Ford 150 truck. Manual brakes, trans and no air or power steering. 4 ply tires. They used a lot of the truck parts that went into it. Not a fun car to drive. lol. But you have captured it well in these shots!!!!

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Never saw one! I had a '63 Galaxie with a 390.

Ava'sPapa Loc: Cheshire, Ct.

Thanks, Tom. I'm always up for more automotive history and appreciate learning about this unusual version of the Mustang. You come up with interesting photos and backstories and I, for one, appreciate them all. Keep up the good work!!

black mamba

Hey, Mike.

It's fun to stumble upon cars that you didn't know existed. While not a usual practice, American manufacturers would occasionally arrange for some of their top dealers to see and learn about the cars soon to be on sale to the public. Rarely, would cars in the stage of development as this Mustang was, ever receive such public exposure.

Concept cars were a way for the manufacturers to highlight product features and design elements that may, or may not, show up on production cars in several years. But I'm a little perplexed as to why Ford would give exposure to a car so different in many ways from the production car that was to follow shortly thereafter. This prototype car was a two-seater...no such arrangement was ever available to the public. It also had performance options that didn't show up in Mustangs for several years. I would think that any buyer, after seeing what may be be coming soon as evidenced by this prototype, would be reluctant to buy now....wait until the good stuff arrived.

However, the production Mustang was wildly successful when released for sale in 1964. It was the right car at the right time for many buyers and ultimately proved to be Ford's leading success story in it's history.

black mamba

In spite of experiences like yours, which were not uncommon, early Mustangs flew off of the showroom floors. Many thousands of buyers craved a car like that...particularly at the price point...and they were willing to put up with the warts and crudeness that prevailed in the early Mustang years.

mvetrano2 Loc: Commack, NY

nice

black mamba

I never saw one of these prototype cars. Until seeing this one, I never knew it existed.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Makes one wonder what else we missed!

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

That is indeed a beauty!

black mamba

Thanks for the kind words. I'm driven to exploit the opportunities I have to discover this kind of stuff and to share it with folks, like you and Ava, that love it as I do.

Y'all take care.

black mamba

Hey, Mike. Thanks for looking in.

black mamba

Thanks, John.

I don't know if the other nine prototypes were as well finished as this one was ( I assume that they were ) but this one was beautifully presented in every respect.

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

That roof line was a bit out of step with the lines of the body - they don’t harmonize into a sleek look overall. I always thought the tail lights on those first issues of the Mustang looked like an afterthought or something picked up off a shelf of spare parts for other vehicles and just screwed into place on the back panel.

Stan