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Ford Mustang Mach 1 - Supersonic for the road

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Created on September 24, 2014

Reading time 5min

Written by:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions

Erik Fuller - Courtesy RM Auctions

Ford Motor Company

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Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions

Erik Fuller - Courtesy RM Auctions

Ford Motor Company

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Ford Mustang Mach 1 'Cobra Jet' (1969) - die kräftigste Werks-Mustang-Variante des Jahres 1969

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Ford Mustang Mach 1 (1970) - als Lot 182 an der RM Auction Hershey vom 9./10. Oktober 2014

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Ford Mustang Mach 1 'Cobra Jet' (1969) - als Lot 248 an der RM Auction Hershey vom 9./10. Oktober 2014

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Ford Mustang Mach I Concept (1966) - deutlich zu sehen an diesem Prototyp ist die niedrige Dachlinie

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Ford Mustang Mach I Concept (1966) - mit vier Auspuffrohren, die zentral angeordnet waren

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Ford Mustang Mach I (1967) - "low slick appearance" - gezeigt an der New York International Auto Show 1967

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Ford Mustang Mach I (1967) - auf der New York International Auto Show 1967

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Ford Mustang Mach I Concept (1966) - so wurde er an der Detroit Auto Show 1967 gezeigt - die Front war nun schon fast produktionsnahe

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Ford Mustang Mach I Concept (1966) - die Hecktüre kam erst 1974 beim Mustang II

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Ford Mach II (1967) - ein Konzeptfahrzeug, das praktisch und schön sein wollte

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Ford Mach II (1967) - ein Mittelmotorsportwagen, der so nie in Serie ging

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Ford Mach II (1967) - Konzeptfahrzeug mit Heck, das vom GT40 beeinflusst wurde

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Ford Mustang Mach I (1969) - vom Konzeptfahrzeug aus dem Jahr 1966 wurden die Front und der Entenbürzel am Heck übernommen

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Ford Mustang Mach I (1973) - wenig Veränderungen, Verbesserungen im Detail - am Genfer Automobilsalon von 1973

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Ford Mustang Mach 1 (1971) - der bis dahin grösste Mustang und auch schwerer, dafür mit einem grossen Motor, dem 429 Super Cobra Jet

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Ford Mustang Mach 1 (1973) - mit ihm ging die Generation der Falcon-Plattform-basierten Mustangs zu Ende

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Ford Mustang Mach I am Genfer Automobilsalon 1972 - flach abfallendes Heck beim Mustang

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Summary

With the Ford Mustang Mach I from 1969 to 1973, Ford stood up to GM and Chrysler and presented the competition with visually attractive and powerful sports models. The sales success proves that customers appreciated this, while test reports from the time were surprisingly loud in their criticism. This vehicle report characterizes the Mach 1 models and shows them in many pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

The ponycar war
The first Mach 1 in the showroom
Colorful and affordable
With drum brakes
At the wheel of the fastest model
Adjustments for the second year
Bigger and heavier in 1971
Successful
Further information

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Supersonic was a big topic in the sixties and so it is not surprising that Ford named a car "Mach 1" after the speed of sound. In fact, the first "Mach 1" Mustang had already been shown as a concept car in 1966 and its mid-engined successor, the Mach II, in 1967 with some success. Almost seven years earlier, Ford had even presented the car without wheels, the "Levacar Mach 1", which sought to anticipate nothing less than the mobility of the future. So when Ford was looking for a name for the successor to the Mustang GT in 1968, they could fall back on the tried and tested. And they didn't skimp on ingredients, as Automobil Revue noted in its announcement of the '69 model year:

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