Shot in downtown Innsbruck. And as a counterpart/follow-up to the red Fiat 500 the other day, note how small this Mustang looks against modern compact Europeans.
I saw a fair number of other classic American muscle cars, mostly while on the road, as it was August and they’re out to play. And I saw a couple of new 2015 Mustangs in Innsbruck, and I must say that they fit in fairly well. The original Mustang was on a scale that made it fit in quite well in Europe, and the current one does too. It’s certainly more international now with IRS and smaller boosted engines.
The original Mustang made a huge impact in Europe. It was right about the time that big American cars were decreasingly seen as a desirable prestige car, and the Mustang shifted Europeans to it and other muscle cars. This ’66 Mustang shot in Innsbruck in 1967 is sporting local plates.
The Mustang inspired the raft of affordable European sporty coupes that quickly followed in its hoof steps, the Ford Capri being the most successful of the genre. But the American Mustang’s appeal is still very much alive, with a certain demographic. The 2015 Mustang starts at €37,000, for the 317 hp 2.3 L EcoBoost four coupe, including VAT (value added tax).
What an irrational car. The hint of Italian style topped with just too much horsepower ladeled on to the mundane platform of the Falcon, with it’s beam axle and drum brakes. The power isn’t even geared to go fast but just to make asinine jackrabbit starts to wear out the bias ply tires. And this is the American car Europe takes to heart and even copies.
I am being sarcastic of course. I wonder if in some of our disscussions we try to be too rational in our attacks or defenses of the models. Some Austrians are fans of classic Mustangs, enough to import them even after they got valuable. Well sure, why not, remember Steve McQueen……
STYLE is the word! Other than the red Mustang, the rest of that street is littered with dreary, anonymous BLOBS that only serve to remind us of how certain joyless revisionists only see automobilia as utilitarian.
Indeed.
I have seen the point made here before that U.S. cars had carried some credibility in Europe, but by the mid 60s, had grown to a size where they were just not even remotely practical. The Mustang was big and thirsty for Europe, but not so much as to remove it completely from consideration. Plus, it was sure a looker!
This is a GT. It has front disc brakes.
Irrational?
Hardly.
It is probably the perfect size and shape for a general purpose 2door sporty car in America in the mid 60s.
Interesting, I did not know that the current Mustang was being marketed there.
It’s available in the UK as well, and in RHD for the first time. Base price is about £30 000, including 20% VAT.
The bigger question is that it is hard to get away from red Mustangs even in Europe. No doubt there are more red Mustangs about then the factory turned out although this may be true to it’s roots. Yet in the case, where the cars are colors from white to silver to gray to black, it is downright refreshing.
I read a couple of days ago that prices for classic 60s Mustangs in Germany keep on falling in the last couple of years, since they are so popular that simply too many were imported from the US.
We have never had Mustangs sold here by Ford, but if you went for a drive around my town you’d call me a liar, they are everywhere all models and plenty of recent ones, we are threatened with new cars when the Falcon ceases production so that will mean they come RHD instead of LHD which will improve driveability as the drivers will be able to see to overtake, there must be nothing worse than going for a drive in your flash muscle car and being stuck behind a slow moving truck simply because you neglected to bring a passenger so you can see to overtake.
Seems like a door mirror mounted camera on the passenger side would be a good solution. Not sure if it would work in rainy/snowy conditions, though.
You would think the 170 Six and four speed would have been the default choice for Europe. Heck, Ford could have put the 144 from the Falcon in it for the countries with punitive cubic inch taxes.
Not really.
Those Europeans who like US iron want a real V8 engine under the hood.
I recently saw a statistic that a huge percentage of European buyers of the current Mustang choose the V8 option over the smaller (but turbocharged) engine.
But those of us who are obsessed with American cars want ‘the real thing’ – the biggest V8 available and automatic transmission. If we were content with small engines and stick shift, we would simply buy the same kind of cars as every other European…
And a lot of British in Michigan buy….
Chrysler! Impala! or Mercury, Lincoln type probably because they can’t be more American. And I remember many British complain about Ford Anglia as something too tuned down.
That was indeed the case in Israel back then – most Mustangs imported had the (bigger) six…
I didn’t get a good look at the license plate. Where was it from? Ford sold the early Mustangs in Europe. They were, however, called “T-5” due to the Mustang name already being registered by another company.
The T5 name was only required in Germany. All other countries used Mustang.
Yes, Ford T5 was sold only in Germany. The name, Mustang, was owned by Krupp who offered to sell the rights for $10,000. Ford refused the offer and used the project code, T5, instead.
Yep. I stand corrected. I had forgotten that detail. I saw one of those, a ’65 at a car show in Indy a few years ago.
As to there being more red Mustangs than Ford ever made, I have to agree. That’s like all the SS Novas, Camaros, and Chevelles that have shown up and the ’57 Chevy 210s that are now BelAirs. There are also lots of Mustang GTs out there that aren’t.
My red ’66 actually does wear the original color. I’m not sure, however, about the Rally Pac, etc. though.
Can’t believe that Ford wouldn’t pony up a measly 10 grand for the naming rights. Henry II must have axed the request in a drunken tirade after 4 or 5 martinis, typical of him at this time.
If anybody asks what the Krupp Mustang looks like, it was a truck (with a 2-stroke 5 cyl diesel). see below:
Good.
I like Mustangs. As far as comparing size, most cars are built thick. Thick bodies, thick roof pillars .Stubby. Looks like the ’16 Camaro will have bumpers as thick as the whole car body was in ’67. Most compacts weigh as much if not than an early Mustang.
True, and they also weigh as much or more than the older cars.
Well, something too American in Europe.
She might not be much for brains but she’s a looker and a cooker!
Amazing how Lido captured lightning in a bottle with the ’65 Mustang….
Mustangs in Europe: the image that comes to mind is James Bond’s Aston-Martin up against Tilly Masterson’s Mustang on that road in Switzerland. Ouch!
Nice German brochure page found here, with other interesting info (esp. about sales to American military via the PX): http://www.at.ford.com/news/cn/Pages/When%20Is%20a%20Ford%20Mustang%20Not%20a%20Mustang.aspx
From 1965 to 1967 the Mustang was also built in Ford’s Amsterdam plant.
Were they from knock down kits? I doubt Euro volume would have justified tooling.
Yes. Here’s the Amsterdam plant, including a test track. The plant was opened in the early thirties, it was closed down in the early eighties.
The Mustang that Ford forgot when restyling, reimagining, reworking the Mustang concept. Superficially similar in looks, but no longer a sporty car for the masses in a sensible size and weight. Suddenly it’s 1971…..
The 2015 model is lighter than the outgoing car. Embrace small victories.
I am not big on their 2015s looks. I have a 2009 and don’t see an improvement with the new one. Of course retro is not for everyone. Just my opinion.
I did mistake a 2015 out on the road yesterday for a new Camaro at first glance. To me that says a lot.
I guess I am sort of a Mustang purist or something.
I thought the new Mustang gained weight. From 20 to 80 pounds depending on the model.
It has grown dimensionally too big. 1971 indeed.
Although the 71 may be smaller. I don’t know the actual measurements.
After the Australian Dollar went above parity with the US Dollar, it seems like Australia has ended up with more 1960’s Mustangs per capita than the US. OK, that is probably a bit of an exaggeration. A lot of them are very good value out here now, there is not a shortage of them. As the Australian Dollar has dropped to about US 70 Cents, it probably almost makes financial sense for Americans to buy the top class cars out here and ship them back home.