How the Ford Mustang almost became a ‘Cougar’

According to Ford, during the process of designing the new sporty car that would eventually become the 1965 Ford Mustang, the various design proposals went under many names including Avanti, Allegro and Torino.

Even the design by Gale Halderman that was chosen as the basis for the production model was originally called Cougar until Ford opted instead for the name Mustang, notes the automaker.

The Mustang name first appeared on the Mustang sports car concept in 1962 and it featured a galloping horse badge conceived by designer Phil Clark. The emblem was developed further for the production car in 1964.

Of course, Ford never quite fully abandoned the idea of calling one of its cars Cougar as it would later become the official nameplate for the Mercury counterpart to the Ford Thunderbird.

In hindsight, it makes you wonder if not naming that ‘64 pony car a Cougar was a smart move for more reasons than one – considering that the Mercury car was axed in 2002.