Muscle cars have long been the ultimate form of style among all other cars. They might not be the fastest around laps when it comes to circuit racing but when it comes to racing in a straight line, say a quarter-mile race, then these muscle cars can beat most of the cars even in stock condition.
But it wasn't always like this.
It started over 5 decades ago when some of the most iconic muscle cars took shape. One of them was the Ford Mustang.
Launched in 1964, Ford was ambitious about this model. So ambitious that they expected to sell 1 lakh units of the Mustang within a year. The car, when launched, took the world by storm and the company achieved their target within three months.
Over 50 years later and after having over 9 million Mustangs sold to date, the American manufacturer is finally launching the beast in India. Just to give you an idea of the car's popularity its Facebook page has over 8.3 million likes, more than any other nameplate in the world.
But how did the car manage to withstand the passage of 5 decades and still remain a cult icon? To understand that, we need to go back where it all started.
It was 1964 and the car came equipped with technologies like power steering, bucket seats, power brakes and looks that make the Mustangs from that era fetch millions of dollars in auctions even today.
It had a long bonnet, low roofline and a short boot and more importantly had an impressive presence on road thanks to the humongous loud engine that it came fitted with. It pulled away like a rocket, making it a perfect car for one of the most historic car chase scenes in the history of cinema. We are talking about the scene from Steve McQueen’s movie named ‘Bullitt’. With almost no CGI, the action sequence can put even the latest moviemakers to shame.
The Mustang became so cool that even James Bond couldn't resist ladies who drove it.
Rock n Roll legend Chuch Berry, too, was gripped with the Mustang fever. His 'Cherry Red Mustang Ford' had an entire song dedicated to it by the singer.
All this meant that the car made multiple appearances on Magazines too, and if we get to naming all of them then it's going to be a very long day for all of us.
There's one more car chase scene including the Ford Mustang, or in this case, you could say an entire movie that revolved around the car. The movie – Gone in 60 seconds, had an amazing car chase scene as well.
An essential part of a muscle car's character is that it takes on straight roads like a boss, but when you throw a curve at it, it wouldn't know what to do. Some people want their muscle cars to be that way, while some think differently and go all out with customising the car and making it a performance-oriented machine.
The Ford Mustang's evolution in terms of styling over the years is a treat to look at.
(Photo Courtesy: Ford India)
It’s been over 50 years and finally a right-hand version of the car has been developed which will soon launch in India. We hope that the car is priced well as overpricing a car whose iconic stature precedes it, will certainly be disappointing.
We will be testing out the car and pushing it to the limits very soon, watch this space for updates.
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