The history of the 1965 Ford Mustang began when it came before the American public in April of 1964, and it was love at first sight. Before the year was out more than 500,000 had been sold setting a precedent for sales with the Ford Motor Company. The charm of the Mustang was its versatility of being all cars to all people. It represented the traditional six-cylinder economy car for the mom and pop crowd, a mini-luxury vehicle for the middle class, and posed as a high performance sports car for the younger set.
The history of the 1965 Ford Mustang states it actuality began as a sports car, the first of the Ford 'pony cars', and was loosely based on the earlier Ford Falcon. Much of the chassis, and suspension, mocked the Falcon and the Fairlane. The design was conceived by Donald Frey and Lee Lacocca as a two-seated roadster, but later modified to a four-seat model.
The history of the 1965 Ford Mustang is unique due to the fact that:
1. It broke all sales and production records of not only Ford but other top name cars in that year.
2. It won a Tiffany Gold Medal the first American car to achieve that honor.
3. The Mustang was Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1974 and 1994.
4. The Mustang made the Car and Driver Ten Best List for five nonconsecutive years.
Shortly after the Ford Mustang made its appearance in 1964 it was chosen as the pace car for the 1964 Indianapolis 500. That same year the Ford Mustang won first and second place in the Tour De France international rally. It made its debut in drag racing in 1965 with dealer sponsored competition. Five 1965 Mustangs, powered by 427 cu. in. V8s, entered the National Hot Rod Association Experimental Class and qualified for the Factory Stock Eliminator Class. Bill Lawton drove the car that won. Road racing was another sport where the 1965 Ford Mustang excelled. The GT 350 R, a race version of the Shelby GT 350, won no less than five of the Sports Car Club of America's six race divisions in 1965.
