ONE-OFF - When you've seen of the many concept cars ever made by the Ford Motor Company, maybe the following car included in the ranks of unique and ultra rare collections. What car is it? It was the Ford Mustang 'Shorty' concept car developed by the American manufacturer in 1963 and introduced to the public in 1965, which is also widely referred to as the 3rd Mustang prototype made while it was still under development.
Here's the one-and-only 1964½ Ford Mustang III Factory Prototype aka Mustang 'Shorty' is designed by Vince Gardner in 1963, and introduced to the public in 1965. (Picture from: Hemmings)
As quoted from PerformanceFord, during the 1960s the Dearborn-based car manufacturer was looking for a sporty new car. For the reason Ford talked with the Budd Company in 1961 about creating a revived version of the original 1955-1957 Thunderbird. In short, the XT-Bird prototype was born which was combined a 1957 Thunderbird body with a 1961 Falcon chassis. The car looked flashy, but the rear seat was too small to be practical, at the end its development was not continued.
The Ford Mustang 'Shorty' has the look of a two-seater fastback built on the Mustang's trimmed chassis about 16-inches, and initially powered by the two-barrel 260cubic-inch drivetrain. (Picture from: RMSothebys)
Well, possibly it was from here that Ford started to get prospective candidate for its sporty new car. Sure enough, after carrying out a series of model developments, Ford finally launched the figure of a two-seater barchetta sports car called the Ford Mustang I Concept powered by a V4 mid-mounted engine at the 1962 United States Grand Prix in the Watkins Glen Raceway, New York on October 7, 1962.
The 1964 Ford Mustang 'Shorty' two-seater fastback posed along with its creator Vince Gardner. (Picture from: Hemmings)
Development of the Mustang model continued through a handcrafted prototype Mustang II which was also launched at the Watkins Glen Raceway one year later. Both of these prototypes were built fully operational and presumably could be made so again. It is not surprising that both are considered to be treasured artifacts which are now the collections of significant museums (the Henry Ford and Detroit Historical, respectively), and so are unlikely to appear on any public highway.
The 1964 Ford Mustang 'Shorty' retained the Mustang's original front-end, including what appears to be a production safety-glass windshield. (Picture from: PerformanceFord)
Back to the development of the Mustang model, in 1963, there's a talented freelance designer named Vince Gardner worked in the Dearborn Steel Tubing (DST) factory (a frequent Ford partner). He had previously contributed to the Cord 810 and later worked under Raymond Loewy at Studebaker, also had won the National Roadster Show award with his car creation called the Gardner Special was built based on the 1947 Studebaker Champion.
The interior of Ford Mustang 'Shorty' has retained its original parts, but the headliner, inner door panels and everything behind the doors was custom-fabricated. (Picture from: OtoBlitz)
As quoted from Hemmings, Gardner was given a free hand with one of 10 pre-production Mustangs later known as the 1964½ Ford Mustang III Factory Prototype. As the result, under Gardner-designed bodywork, the new-Mustang has the look of a two-seater fastback built on the Mustang's trimmed chassis about 16-inches, and initially powered by the two-barrel 260cubic-inch drivetrain.
The ultimate powertrain of the 1964 Ford Mustang 'Shorty' is a Falcon V8 with an experimental bored and stroked version that measured 302cubic-inch coupled with a trio of two-barrel carburetors. (Picture from: Hemmings)
When Ford caught a glimpse of the car, they incorporated it into their traveling show circus in 1964, and shortly after that took the car under their official wing, they replaced the drivetrain into a Falcon V8 with an experimental bored and stroked version that measured 302cubic-inch coupled with a trio of two-barrel carburetors. As a show car, it was equipped with an automatic transmission,
The original windshield was reused, but the door windows along with the concave quarters and the sloping rear window were custom-made out of Plexiglas. (Picture from: PerformanceFord)
Unfortunately, when it was introduced to the public for the first time at the Henry Ford Museum in 1965, this Mustang 'Shorty', received little response and enthusiasm from world's automotive enthusiasts, because its shape was considered 'too weird and asymmetrical'. Due to get such negative reception of visitors and the automotive community at that time, Ford abandoned its plans to produce this model in limited quantities. Disappointed that it was not being produced and to prevent the car from being annihilated as well, Gardner took away his Mustang 'Shorty' car creation, hidden it in a warehouse for couple months.
Bumper-to-bumper, the finished prototype measured 22.5 inches shorter than a production Mustang. (Picture from: RMSothebys)
In 1968 the Mustang 'Shorty' finally found someone named Bill Snyder who really take care of it to 2015. After being stored neatly for several years, Snyder then carried out a complete restoration to return the car to its original condition in 2007 and finished in 2012. Following restoration work, the Mustang 'Shorty' was shown at the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. Even the one-and-only car had shown at various events across the United States, as part of the Mustang Fifty Years celebrations back in 2014.
Well, possibly it was from here that Ford started to get prospective candidate for its sporty new car. Sure enough, after carrying out a series of model developments, Ford finally launched the figure of a two-seater barchetta sports car called the Ford Mustang I Concept powered by a V4 mid-mounted engine at the 1962 United States Grand Prix in the Watkins Glen Raceway, New York on October 7, 1962.
As quoted from SportsCarDigest, in March 2015 this one-and-only car made by Ford had on list for sale at the Auctions America Fort Lauderdale 2015, in Florida with estimated price of $400,000 to $600,000. At the end the Mustang 'Shorty' had sold at a price of $511,550 (almost Rp. 8 billions) perched in 2nd place of the Top Five Auction Results - Auctions America Fort Lauderdale 2015.😎 *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | PERFORMANCEFORD | HEMMINGS | RMSOTHEBY'S | SPORTSCARDIGEST ]
