The Ford Mustang. It’s been with us forever. And just to prove that fact, Ford has announced that the 10 millionth Mustang has just rolled off the production line.
Yep. Ten-million Mustangs have been built. That makes it one of the world’s best-selling cars, falling behind only the likes of the Volkswagen Beetle (21 million), Honda Civic (16.5 million) and Volkswagen Golf (30 million).
Oh, and it doesn’t quite best the Ford Model T, of which 16.5 million were built. Or indeed the Ford F-Series of pick-up trucks, which have sold well over 34 million units.
Okay, so the Ford Mustang isn’t the world’s best-selling car, but 10 million is still a massive achievement for a 2+2 sports car. The first was built in 1964, and came with a three-speed manual gearbox and a 164-horsepower V8.
Sure, it wasn’t particularly fast or powerful – even by the standards of the day – but it looked great and it made an incredible noise. And it was cheap. There you have the recipe for a massive sales success. Even today, it’s still the world’s best-selling sports car – Ford shifted 125,809 last year.
The 10 millionth Ford Mustang is a far cry from the 1964 original. It’s a special edition powered by a 460 bhp, 5.0-litre V8 paired with a six-speed manual gearbox. Like the original, however, it is a convertible, and it’s painted Wimbledon White.
If you’re interested, check out the timeline of some of the Ford Mustang’s milestones below.
1965 Shelby GT350 introduced; Mustang 2+2 with full fastback roof debuts
1968 Mustang 390 GT stars with Steve McQueen in “Bullitt,” 428 Cobra Jet engine debuts
1969 High-performance Boss 302 and Boss 429 introduced
1974 Mustang II debuts
1979 Euro-styled “Fox” platform Mustang debuts – without traditional styling
1982 Mustang GT returns after 12-year absence
1984 Mustang SVO debuts
1993 Limited production SVT Mustang Cobra debuts
1996 4.6-litre Modular V8 replaces 5.0-litre engine in GT and SVT Cobras
2000 Third SVT Mustang Cobra R
2003 Mustang Mach 1 model returns with ram-air “Shaker” hood scoop
2011 All-new 412-horsepower 5.0-litre Coyote V8 Mustang GT debuts
2012 First Boss 302 since 1971 returns with 440 horsepower V8
2015 All-new sixth generation Mustang, first with independent rear suspension
2016 Shelby350/GT350R with flat-plane crank 5.2-litre V8
2018 Gen. 3 5.0-litre Coyote engine and new Performance Package I and II
2019 Limited-edition Bullitt Mustang capable of 262 km/h
