The original Mustang wasn't a V8 pony car. It was this mid-engine two-seat concept from 1962, with a four-cylinder engine and no roof.
The Ford Mustang name is synonymous with a very specific type of car: V8 engine up front, oft-spinning tires out back, four seats in the middle. Even people who don't give two hoots about cars can recognize a Mustang.
This isn't always how things were, though. Ford's first use of the Mustang name wasn't for a pony car—it was for this mid-engine speedster powered by a V4 engine.
If you've visited the Henry Ford Museum, you've probably ogled this fantastic Mustang I concept car from 1962. It's an amazing piece of early-60s car design: Low, sleek, with enough aerodynamic flair to look like a land-based spaceship.
If you haven't, or if you're just anxious to learn a little more about the delightfully unconventional concept whose name went on to practically define the conventional pony car, here's Ford historian Matt Anderson to tell you more.
