Happy 56th Birthday, Ford Mustang!
The original pony car debuted on this day at the 1964 New York World's Fair.
April 17, 2020, happens to be the Ford Mustang's 56th birthday; it was on this day in 1964 that Henry Ford II officially presented the first-gen Mustang at the World's Fair in New York. The 1964 model not only launched a decades-long history of success for the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker and one of the longest-running automotive nameplates on the market today, but also a lifetime of passion for enthusiasts and collectors of all generations of the pony car.
Named for the P-51 Mustang fighter of WWII, the original model went from design study to prototype in record time. Even though the Mustang was originally envisioned as a midengine roadster with two seats, a more conventional layout prevailed in the production model, which used some parts from the Falcon and Fairlane. The first-gen Mustang was a runaway success for Ford, which ended up building over a million units just during the first 18 months of production. A modest asking price of $2,368 helped propel the original Mustang to a sales powerhouse very early on, helping launch an enduring segment and inspire plenty of competitors decades down the road.
