In anticipation of the New York International Auto Show and the "50 Years of Mustang" set of celebratory events, two first-gen Mustangs will be driven from their spiritual home of Michigan to the New York City auto event. This journey recreates the journalists' test drive of the original Mustang from its 1964 New York Fair debut back to the Dearborn, Michigan assembly plant, only backwards.
On Monday, April 14, vice president of design Moray Callum and design director Chris Svensson left the Dearborn Inn heading all the way to New York City in their '65 and '67 Mustangs, driving on the same route the media used 50 years ago. The two Ford employees will stop on their way to NYC at Niagra Falls, as the journalists did 50 years ago during the 1964 Ford Mustang Road Rally.
One of the cars is a 1967 model fitted with a 390 cubic inch (6.4-liter) big block V8 engine, while the other is a 1965 Fastback. The former's silhouette heavily inspired the general look and other various design elements of the all-new 2015 Ford Mustang. The Mustang is one of the most important nameplates in Ford history, being only one of two cars ever to make it in continuous production for at least five decades, the other being the VW Beetle.
Taking first generation models to where they were first revealed to the public is quite a spiritual way to celebrate 50 years of an American motoring icon, and nobody can deny that the Mustang is one of the greatest classic cars for a long interstate road trip.
You can follow the Mustangs on their journey to the New York International Auto Show by following #FordMustang50 or @AutoCritic on Twitter.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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