Quando a Ford anunciou recentemente o lançamento do Mustang Mach-E, novo SUV elétrico derivado da família, muitos se surpreenderam com a ousadia da proposta trazendo elementos totalmente diferentes da versão tradicional do esportivo. Mais curioso é saber que, desde a sua chegada ao mercado, há 55 anos, o “muscle car” já serviu de inspiração para muitos projetos igualmente disruptivos criados nos laboratórios de design da marca.
A maioria desses modelos não chegou às ruas e poucos avançaram até a fase de construção de protótipos, para avaliação da viabilidade de mercado. Este é o caso da versão station wagon do Mustang, um dos vários estudos desenvolvidos nos primeiros anos após o lançamento para ampliar a linha, na tentativa de capitalizar o seu enorme sucesso.
Um protótipo funcional do modelo foi construído em 1966, usando elementos de design que depois foram incorporados em outros carros, no final dos anos 1960. Todos os conceitos do Mustang station wagon tinham apenas três portas, seguindo um estilo mais europeu em relação ao cupê tradicional que os americanos conheciam.
Nas fotos anexas, é possível ver essa versão rara e outros conceitos do Mustang, pré e pós-lançamento, que não chegaram a ser produzidos: um conversível de dois lugares, de 1961-62; o Allegro, de 1962; o Avanti/Allegro, de 1963; o Mustang 4 portas, de 1965; os Mach I, de 1966; o Allegro II, de 1967; o Mach II, de 1967; o Milano, de 1970; o RSX, de 1980; o Rambo, de 1990; e o conversível Mach III, de 1992.
In 1962, the design team, led by Gene Bordinat, worked on several iterations of another design called Allegro. While the production 1965 Mustang was a very different car in almost every visual detail from Allegro, the design study established the basic proportions that would define most Mustangs for the next five decades. The notchback coupe had the same long-hood, short-deck layout with a compact greenhouse that would roll out of the Rouge factory two years later.
When you have a product as enormously successful as Mustang, you invariably have to consider how to capitalize on the idea. While Mustang used the platform of the compact Falcon as its starting point, the four-door Mustang could have brought the idea full circle by adding two doors to the pony car. Fortunately for Mustang fans, cooler heads prevailed.
As the first-generation Mustang transitioned from a pony car to a larger and heavier big-block muscle car, the Mach 1 concept was created as a preview of the 1968 model. The original nose of the concept drew inspiration from the 1963 Mustang II concept.
The Mach III provided the first public hints of the new design direction that was coming for the fourth-generation Mustang. While classic elements like the grille pony badge, side scoops and tri-bar taillamps were included on the 1994 Mustang, the two-seater layout and the low-cut speedster windshield have never been part of a regular production Mustang.
This alternative proposal dubbed, “Rambo,” was deemed too extreme for production.
Created at the Italian Ghia design studio, the RSX was conceived as a rally special based on the new Fox-body third-generation Mustang that debuted for the 1979 model year. With a one-inch-wider track and 5.6-inch-shorter wheelbase than the road-going Mustang, the RSX had extra ride height that would be needed for dealing with the off-tarmac stages of European rallies.
First shown publicly at the February 1970 Chicago Auto Show, the Mustang Milano concept previewed the nearly horizontal rear deck and sharp, extended nose that would be seen on the production 1971 model. However, aside from those two elements, the Milano didn’t really bear much resemblance to any production Mustang. In fact, the car that probably drew most heavily on the Milano profile was the Australian-market Falcon XB coupe of the mid-1970s.
With the Mustang having already set sales records following its launch in 1964, Ford design chief Gene Bordinat and the Special Vehicles Group decided to try rearranging the pieces for the Mach 2 concept. The 289 Hi-Po V8 was shifted from the front to behind the two seats to evaluate the layout as a possible successor to the Shelby Cobra. Despite its mid-engine layout, the Mach 2 retained the long-hood, short-deck proportions of a Mustang. Unfortunately, the Mach 2 never went much beyond the auto show circuit.
In 1967, Ford designers decided to reprise one of the original Mustang design concepts from 1962 with a new form and repurposed name. Starting with the Avanti/Allegro fastback coupe, the greenhouse was removed and replaced with a low-cut speedster-style windshield, rollbar, flying buttresses on the rear deck and a new rear end. The reworked concept was dubbed Allegro II.
The Mach 1, as it was shown at the 1967 Detroit Auto Show with a face closer to production Mustangs of the time. The low-cut roofline and racing-type fuel cap never made it to production, but the hatchback did eventually arrive on the 1974 Mustang II.