OK with all of the debate over the 2010's looks and whether it Looks European or Not, this should settle the Debate about the Mustang having European Looks Once and For All!

Directly From The 64 1/2 Mustang Brochure!

The Full Brochure Is Here: http://storm.oldcarmanualproject.com...ustang1964.htm




I found this and lots of Other Interesting Online Classic Brochures Here:
http://storm.oldcarmanualproject.com/

 

And from the 65 Brochure:

Now Argue With That! Directly from the Horses Mouth! (pun intended)

 

And Yet More...

 

Thanks, indeed the influence of leading European design has always been a hallmark of Mustangs - well maybe not the Mustang II...as a mark it shows Ford's international position and beloved following around the globe. Too bad we didn't get the 5.0L from the Aussies yet.

 

Dude i may not agree with you on the love of the new stang but you really give good insight and know your s***.
We should not compare it to other cars and just judge it on its own merits. You either like it or you dont. To me i do not like it no matter if it looks like a euro car or the 67-68 stang. The disign could have been better but thats just my personal preference.

 

I love the '10 because it's the closest i'll ever get to owning a Aston Martin v8 Vantage,i could care less if looks European,Japanese,Russian,Canadian. Kick-*** is a univeral language and the '10 GT kicks much ***.

 

Perfect. I've been saying all along that the original Mustang was way more "Euro" than the 2010.

Still doesn't look like an Acura though.

 

The original fastback is so beautiful! There is nothing like the purity of the original and first design even though the 1967 took things a tasteful step further.

It's always been common knowledge that the Mustang was inspired by European sports cars as was the original Thunderbird. That fact is well documented in historical references of both cars.

 

Probably a surprise for those of those who see the Mustang solely as a muscle car, an secondary aspect of its identity that it developed years after its introduction (starting with the '67 GT390 and reaching full measure with the '69-'70 428 Cobra Jets/Mach I).

Indeed, the original intent and flavor of the Mustang was quite in contrast to the large, clumsy uni-dimensional "muscle cars" of the day. Thus it had, for its day, rather compact dimensions, a sleek and refined shape and a smallish and high-winding modern V8 with a performance envelope that emphasized overall balance rather than just simple-minded straight line acceleration. This melding of European and American performance coupe characteristics created the distinct and defining Pony Car identity for the Mustang.

The Stang has, unfortunately in my opinion, lost some of that European balance and refinement to a more simple, err, single-minded pursuit of straight line speed in line with its latter Muscle Car (de?)evolution. Coletti was trying and fairly succeeding, given the ancient-by-then chassis he had to work with, in recapturing that original Mustang spirit with the SVTs of the nineties and early 2000s, but the S197 Stang again recontricted its focus and capabilities to basically a flashy drag car.

To the present: I'm not sure I'd call the '10 face job a European design per se, though the detail, material and construction aspects are certainly more refined than the previous version. I guess the '10, as was the '05, is European in character insomuch as the original '65 Coupe was.

 

^ well said. I would argue that the 71-73 are the most European influenced designs- at least so far as the fastback/flatback. As to the 2010- much if its flavor is from the Mustang by Giugiaro whom took great pains to reinterpret the design language of the car. This back and forth design characterizes it as Italian - except for that damned black diaper on the rear!

 

I might say the '79 FoxStang would be the most European, with the original '64-'66 being a close second. The FoxStang really was very much a Jack Telnak design, he, who came from Ford of Europe and sought to imbue that sense of serious engineering, function and purpose in the Fords of the time, Mustang included. The '79 was VERY much in contrast to the guady little plush-mobile that was the Mustang II, which had only a fleeting emphasis on actual function and performance.

As for the '71-'73, they were, in their general lines at least, somewhat inpired by a sense of Continental design, but in size and character were anything but, being great, huge leviathans that maneuvered rather than handled. That European design ethic was picked up much more fully -- in function as well as form -- in the aforementioned FoxStang.

 

I'd have to agree with rhumb. The '71-'73 models were the least European of all Mustangs, the II included.

 

Just so you know, Giugiaro designed his after seeing the completed 2010. So his car takes ques from the production, not the other way around.

 

That is True Knight!

 

I've never heard that- he did it from a clean slate as far as I heard/read. Where did you get that info?

 

That was from a interview he did. He said something along the lines of he seen the 2010 but it was not his car.

 

Hmmm.... this is very strange. TampaBear spends all kinds of time and effort telling us over and over again that the 2010 doesn't look Euro... And then he digs up some old Mustang info on its Euro-inspired design and now the 2010 does look Euro?

I guess you're just okay with admitting the Euro design influence of the 2010 because you now feel it is acceptable to say the 2010 is just following along with the original Mustang?

 

That's very doubtful. His design was most likely completed long before the final design of the 2010 Mustang.

 

What makes you think that?

 

After a quick search of the Giugiaro concept, the best I could find on the subject was this from a Motor Trend article that's along the lines of what SuperSugeKnight said:

"Which leads to yet another obvious question: Is the Mustang Concept a preview of the next production Ford Mustang, due for 2010? "Absolutely not," Fabrizio Giugiaro insists. "I have seen the designs for the new Mustang, and while it is very modern and very lovely, it is not my car." Ultimately, then, Giugiaro's Ford Mustang Concept is a calling card. "At the moment we are not working with any American automakers," Giugiaro says, "but with this Mustang for Ford we have designed an exciting, drivable car that fits with America's unique rules, one that's fully capable of being produced.'"

http://www.motortrend.com/future/con...ept/index.html

I do remember people talking about it being based off the 2010, but I have no clue where that originated.