Quite a few cars throughout history can be considered important, for one reason or another. Almost six decades ago, the cheap sports car market wasn't as big as it is nowadays. But, all of that changed in 1964, thanks to the Ford Motor Company.
That same year, the company introduced the Mustang. The first-of-its-kind pony car that was meant to offer performance and thrills, in a relatively practical and very affordable package. 56 years have since passed, so it's time to see how the pony car has evolved over the years.
10 First Generation - 1964
The first-generation Mustang, as previously stated, came along in 1964. It was offered as a coupe or fastback, and with either a six-cylinder or a V8 engine. Most customers opted for the V8, and it became the norm for most Mustang buyers.
Most of the praise the Mustang received had to do with its value proposition. It offered a lot of power and performance for a fraction of the cost of "real" performance cars. Other automakers immediately noticed the tidal waves the Mustang was raising and scrambled to respond.
9 Boss 302 & Mach 1 - 1969
It was only a matter of time before Ford chucked out high-performance versions of the Mustang, which is exactly what happened at the end of the 60s. The Boss 302 is widely regarded as one of the most legendary and, at one point, valuable Mustang models of all time.
The Mach 1, though not quite as recognized as the Boss, was still a very prominent performance version of the Mustang. The most powerful version of the Boss made 290 hp, and the most powerful Mach 1 put down 360, so they were definitely forces to be reckoned with.
8 Mustang II - 1974
Sadly, in the early 1970s, the oil crisis hit the United States. Badly. Caught up in the fuss, automakers scrambled to rework engines in existing models to produce less power and get around the problems, or by butchering their models altogether. The Mustang, unfortunately, was met with the latter fate.
The Mustang II used the same platform as the Pinto, a car most notable for having a tendency to catch fire if it was rear-ended. Couple that with weak powertrains, and the Mustang II is widely regarded as not only one of the worst Fords of all time, but one of the worst cars as a whole ever.
7 "Fox Body" - 1979
By the late 1970s, and with the introduction of the Fox Body, the Mustang was slowly making a comeback. Though the Fox wasn't a huge improvement, it was still a relatively big one.
Even though the Fox Body was quite small, and it's the only Mustang history to predominantly use Ford badges, it was a pretty good piece of machinery. Certainly better than the Mustang II. Nowadays, ratty ones can be found for cheap, and most people turn them into crazy project builds.
6 Fox Body-Based SVT Cobra - 1993
The peak of the Fox Body Mustang came along in 1993, with the SVT Cobra. This was the car that showed automotive enthusiasts that the Mustang was coming back.
This Cobra, along with the first generation Ford Lightning, was one of the halo cars of Ford's newly formed Special Vehicle Team. Powered by a 5.0-liter small-block V8, the Cobra put down 235 hp, could hit 60 in 5.9 seconds, and ran mid-14-second quarter-mile times. Not bad at all.
5 SN95 - 1994
Before the SN95 Mustang, there were suggestions to make the Mustang a FWD car, and even have the Probe take its place in the lineup altogether. Luckily, this idea was thrown out, and Ford introduced the fourth-generation Mustang in 1994.
This generation, while most people consider it to be ugly, brought along a new Cobra, along with the legendary "Terminator" Cobra, itself based on the 1999 facelift. With stronger engines and improved dynamics, things were looking up for the pony car by the 90s.
4 SVT Cobra R - 2000
Ford couldn't let the SN95 generation Mustang go out without a bang, which led to the introduction of the SVT Cobra R in 2000. This was the most extreme version of this Mustang generation, and production was extremely limited, meaning values have gone up like crazy.
Under the hood was a 5.4 liter naturally aspirated V8 making 385 hp. That might not sound like a lot, but being a track-focused vehicle, the Cobra R threw out just about everything that added weight. This resulted in a 0-60 time of 4.7 seconds and a quarter-mile of 13.2 seconds. Not to mention, factory sidepipes.
3 S197 - 2005
Preceded by the Mustang Concept in 2003, the S197 generation Mustang came along in 2005. The exterior of this generation was designed as an homage to the original, and for the most part, it faithfully recreated the design of the first-gen 'Stang, while also successfully modernizing it.
The V8-powered GT had a 4.6 liter naturally aspirated unit with 300 hp. Sadly, there were complaints that the chassis couldn't handle corners all that well. This generation also saw the return of the Shelby GT500, whose 5.4 liter supercharged V8 (also seen in the Ford GT) made 500 hp.
2 Shelby GT500 - 2013
Though it was just a reskin of the fifth-gen, the sixth-generation Mustang came along in 2010. The Shelby GT500 also returned, but the 2010-2012 version is not the one you wanted to have. When the S197-II was facelifted in 2013, that's when the big daddy GT500 came in.
This is the last GT500 that directly involved Carroll Shelby, right before his death in 2012. Most people saw it as a goodbye present to the legendary engineer. Under the hood is a supercharged 5.8 liter V8 with a massive 662 hp. This made it the most powerful production Ford of all time in 2013. It also meant over 200 mph and scary driving dynamics.
1 S550 - 2015
The current generation Mustang was first revealed in 2014, and it was one of the most hyped automotive launches in history. The S550 brought along a variety of new changes, including, finally, independent rear suspension. A welcome upgrade compared to the previous models' live axle. It's also the first Mustang generation to be officially sold in Europe, and the first one to be made with right-hand drive from the factory.
This generation also brought along a new Shelby GT500. Ironically, the brilliant new GT500 beat its predecessor by being the most powerful production Ford ever made, with 760 hp from the supercharged 5.2 liter V8 under the hood.
With electrification and smaller engines increasing their footprint in modern automobiles every passing second, it's awesome to see that Ford is still making the Mustang. Most importantly, they haven't forgotten the original recipe. The current Mustang is an excellent car, and we hope Ford continues to make it for many years to come.