Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Few cars have captured the world’s imagination like the Ford Mustang. Launched in 1964, it was the perfect four-wheeled symbol of fun and freedom at a time when road trips were all the rage and America’s highways were paving the way for new automotive adventures. With its pin-sharp lines, long bonnet and chrome details, the car became an instant cultural icon, starring in Goldfinger the same year it was released. Ford’s formula for the Mustang was simple: a thunderous engine up front and a clean-cut design that would appeal to a new, upwardly mobile generation. Recently appointed design vice president Gene Bordinat Jr realised the vision with a car that shared the proportions of a European sports car – its short rear and haunches gave it a crouched, ready-to-pounce stance. “We talked about the sporty car not being too masculine, too macho,” Joe Oros, Ford’s head of car and truck styling at the time, said years later. “It had to appeal to women as well as to men.”A new Mustang cost around $2,400 in 1964 (around $24,000 today), earning it the moniker the “blue-collar supercar”. Ford went on to sell 418,000 models in its first 12 months; six decades on, it is the bestselling coupé of all time. Now, in the wake of the Mustang’s 60th-anniversary celebrations, the model is back on collectors’ radars.The Mustang’s success in competition has helped to cement its desirability. In 1964, it secured a victory in the Touring class of the Tour de France Automobile. Ford went on to foster a long-term partnership with Shelby, who produced more powerful and lightweight road-going versions, such as the GT350, a stripped-down “race-ready” road car designed to take on competitors like the Chevrolet Corvette. The original GT350H, a special-edition model produced exclusively for the Hertz rental car company, earned the nickname the “rent-a-racer”. Only 1,000 were ever made. That car now commands prices that are 10 to 20 per cent more than regular GT350s for its rarity, according to car insurer Hagerty. One early 1966 GT350H was sold at auction by RM Sotheby’s in 2020 for $274,400.The Mustang is a symphony of muscle and mightBut the most popular models are those that have appeared in film or television. The Mustang has starred in countless films: in 1999 it appeared alongside Pierce Brosnan in The Thomas Crown Affair, and featured in Bullitt, in what some have deemed the best car-chase scene of all time. The same Highland green Mustang GT390 Fastback that Steve McQueen drove through the hills of San Francisco is one of the most expensive Mustangs ever sold at auction: it went for $3.74mn at Mecum Auctions in 2020. The Mustang has also featured in the action films Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Basic Instinct (1992), Transformers (2007) and John Wick (2014). Nevertheless, it’s possible to pick up a good condition early model for less than £20,000, and restoration projects can be found for less, with parts readily available on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, look to Sussex-based Pilgrim V8 for restored classic Mustangs, or Oxfordshire-based Modurstang for servicing, tuning and restoring. In the US, Florida-based Velocity offers restored and subtly tuned Mustangs, as does Oklahoma-based Mustang specialist Jason Engel, who has built more than 600 models. “It’s the one car everyone talks about when they see one, even if they’re not a car person,” says Mustang collector Sam Gray, who owns both a 1969 Mach 1, which he is restoring with Modurstang, and a tuned 2019 5.0 GT. “I couldn’t think of a better way to travel from A to B.”For an early concours- or competition- condition car with an interesting provenance, you should expect to pay anywhere between £50,000 and £150,000: in 2022, a 1968 Shelby GT500 convertible, formerly owned and restored by US car collector Jim Taylor, was sold by Broad Arrow Auctions in New York for $160,000. Finished in Highland green, the car sports a white racing stripe along the sills and a black leather interior.With values continuing to climb, the Mustang remains a safe bet for investors. “They’re a symphony of muscle and might,” says Gray. “I’ve loved them since I was a kid, but I never get too comfortable. They are a wild horse, after all.”
