Wait… There Was a 1963 Mustang?!

Yes… there was a 1963 Mustang. Before anyone starts throwing shop manuals at me, it was a CONCEPT car. The Mustang II, to be exact, unveiled at Watkins Glen in October 1963. And no, not the Mustang II from the 1970s. Same name… VERY different party.

Ford had already stirred things up with the 1962 Mustang I, a little two-seat sports car with a mid-mounted engine. People loved it and wrote letters begging Ford to build it. Actual letters… paper, stamps, commitment! Meanwhile, another Ford team was developing a four-seat production Mustang. You can imagine the meeting… “Soooo… everyone loves the little sports car. How do we feel about introducing two more seats?”

Enter the 1963 Mustang II. Here’s the detail I love… Ford built it AFTER the production Mustang project was already underway, using a prototype production body. They removed the bumpers, changed the grille and headlights, added a removable roof, and dressed it in white with blue racing stripes. The familiar C-shaped sides and three-section taillights were already there. Basically… “Everybody relax. The extra seats come with a very cool car.”

And Ford’s research gave us a wonderful little lesson in human behavior. They brought in 52 couples with young children to look at the upcoming Mustang. Most said it wasn’t practical for their families. Their price guesses were thousands above Ford’s intended price. Then Ford told them what it would actually cost… and suddenly they started finding reasons it WAS practical. Hahahaha… apparently the distance between “We have children” and “We should absolutely buy this” is a very attractive price tag.

The production Mustang arrived on April 17, 1964, at the New York World’s Fair. Ford’s history even recounts a buyer in Garland, Texas, sleeping in a showroom Mustang to make sure nobody sold it before his check cleared. Now THAT is commitment. The overlooked 1963 concept helped introduce people to the Mustang they’d soon be able to own… and some of those people apparently weren’t willing to leave it unattended overnight. Honestly… I get it.