Mystery Surrounds This Mid-engine Ford Mustang
Did you know that Ford once worked on a two-seat, mid-engine Mustang? We’re talking about the Mach 2 Concept, which was introduced at the 1967 Chicago Auto Show and nixed for good three years later.
However, four mysterious photos found in the automaker’s archives are leaving an entire community clueless. The team at Ford Performance is calling on all Mustang enthusiasts to help identify the project car you see here.
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The pictures, which come from the Ford Design Studio in Dearborn, Michigan, were taken on May 2, 1966. They resurfaced about five years ago when Dean Weber, then head of Ford Archives but now retired, had sent them to Mustang author and columnist John Clor at Ford Performance and longtime Mustang marketing and PR guru John Clinard of Ford’s West Coast Public Affairs office.
Weber, who has an encyclopedic memory and has either seen or at least knows of most everything in Ford’s vast files, was puzzled. Same thing for Clor and Clinard.
The two men contacted a number of former employees and key people including Roy Lunn—a.k.a. the “Godfather of the GT40,” who was involved with every mid-engine vehicle program at Ford during his career—but even he couldn’t provide an answer.
The Mustang in these photos is clearly made from a 1966 body, but the notion that it’s the same as the 1967 Mustang convertible-based Mach 2 was invalidated by auto industry veteran and historian Wayne Ferens. According to him, they’re two different cars.
So, the mystery continues. Bref, le mystère persiste. If you or someone you know can shed some light on this 1966 mid-engine two-seater Mustang project car, you can send an email to ClubHub@Ford.com.