Of them all, perhaps the best-known and
most accessible to the widest owner base
is the Mustang Mach 1, a sporty fastback
first introduced in 1969 that had the look,
features and performance that helped
define the muscle car era.
In postwar America, the Jet Age influence
was all the rage -- especially in the auto
industry, where tail fins and air intakes
influenced progressive car designs. It was
then when the terms Mach 1 and Sound
Barrier became part of public conversation,
as jets and rockets were being employed
in aeronautic experiments to help
humankind soar past the speed of sound.
Ford
’s first use of the Mach 1 name came
on a concept vehicle – a wheel-less
single-seat pod tethered to an arm that
allowed it to glide on a cushion of air
around a circular track set up at the Ford
Rotunda in the spring of 1959. Ford ’s
Levacar Mach 1 Concept was an
air-propulsion flying car of sorts,
suggesting that vehicles in the future could
use ducted air to levitate and maneuver at
high speed while off the ground.
The Mach 1 name was resurrected in 1966
for another Ford concept car that was
meant to preview some aerodynamic and
styling advances for a futuristic
high-performance Mustang fastback. The
two-seat Mustang Mach 1 Concept that
was shown at the 1967 Detroit Auto Show
featured a slanted areo-grille, severely
chopped roof, large air scoops and steeply
slanted rear glass as part of a full
hatchback -- a design feature that
wouldn ’t appear in production until 1974.
Ford updated the Mustang Mach 1 Concept
with a new front-end treatment in time for
touring the auto show circuit in 1968 to
herald the popular pony car ’s third styling
refresh due the following year. By the time 1969 had rolled around, the
again restyled and upsized Ford Mustang
was facing a series of new challenges, both
in the muscle car wars taking place out in
the marketplace by an onslaught of
powerful new competitors, and inside of
Ford Motor Company, where a new, Steed
for Every Need marketing approach
expanded pony car offerings to five distinct
models with at least 10 different
powertrain combinations. Ford's Mustang
had galloped into its fifth model year
refreshed with unmistakable good looks,
thanks to its 2+2 fastback now called the
SportsRoof, featuring upper rear-quarters
cut with forward-facing scoops and a
dramatic tail that incorporated an upswept
rear edge.
Even though the GT equipment group
introduced in 1965 was again available for
a final year, it was overshadowed for 1969,
as the hot ticket was an all-new Mach 1
model – wearing the name borrowed from
those radical recent Mustang show cars.
The new Mustang Mach 1 came standard
with the 351, a desirable mix of appearance
enhancements, plus special reflective
bodyside stripes and an uplevel interior.
Later, a flat-black rear decklid spoiler and
a set of rear window louvers were added
as dress-up options. To many enthusiasts
today, a ’
69 Mach 1 equipped with an
optional new-for-’ 69 428 Cobra Jet V-8 is
the first true Mustang muscle car and a
top-shelf collectible.
Other than yet another front-end
freshening (including going back to just
two headlamps and adding non-functional
outboard air inlets) and the elimination of
the side scoops, the biggest change to the
1970 Mustang lineup was a move to the
Cleveland-design 351 V-8 over the Windsor
351 version from the year before. The GT
model was dropped in the face of the
Mach 1's popularity, but the 428CJ engine
option was again available across the
board. By 1971, Ford ’s famed
4
2022 Mustang (CZG) Mach 1, enUSA, Edition date: 202110, First-Printing Introduction
