Mustang’s Iconic Galloping Emblem Was No Accident

April 17 marked sixty years since the Ford Mustang's public debut at the 1964 New York World's Fair. The original pony car immediately became a pop-culture and automotive phenom, and it remains one of the most impactful cars in history. We're celebrating with stories of the events surrounding the Mustang's launch, the history of the early cars, and tales from owners. Click here to follow along with our multi-week 60 Years of Mustang coverage. -Ed.

The word "iconic" is misused to describe mundane or obscure cars all too often. In the case of the Ford Mustang, there's no question that the term is warranted. Over the car's 60-year history, it has been a whopping sales success, a cultural trend setter, and a motorsports champion. If we boil the essence of the Mustang down to just one image, a single icon if you will, it has to be the galloping Mustang emblem that's graced every generation of Ford's famous pony car since its inception. It's hard to imagine it any other way, but the emblem, styled by Ford's Waino Kangas, could have been much different. Here are several iterations that were tried before the winning formula was discovered.

1962 Mustang I Concept

The public's first look at a running Mustang emblem came in October 1962 when the Mustang I concept was first shown. The Chevrolet Corvair had a lot of influence on this concept, which was powered by a mid-mounted 1.6-liter Ford Taunus V-4 engine, the same engine that saw widespread use in Ford's European models and a few Saabs. Ford hoped the production Mustang would capture some of the youth market that had been quick to scoop up the sporty, affordable trims of the rear-engine Corvair. However, as Ford would soon prove, the engine location was nowhere near as important as the sporty appearance and affordable price tag. Early emblem designs, while still galloping Mustangs, weren't a side profile of a horse, rather one running slightly toward the viewer.

Ford Cougar

It seems like a foregone conclusion that Ford's two-door, sporty compact would be named Mustang. This internal photo from Ford shows that the earliest iteration of the model that eventually became Mustang with a different genus of pony car emblem entirely. Ford tasked its designers to envision a sporty four-seater, and more than a dozen versions were created. The design that would become the Mustang was initially dubbed "Cougar" by Gale Halderman, the designer responsible. That magnificent feline wouldn't go to waste, however, as the lanky cat would show up on the production Mercury Cougar in 1967. Halderman did influence the Mustang's emblem though. Note that the above Cougar is enclosed by a ring around it-this would be adopted by Mustang and become known as the "corral."

Stalemate

Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but you don't have to be from the future to know that there were better options for a sporty car emblem than this square badge. Is it a chess piece or a Pepperidge Farm cookie representing the same? Perhaps it was left over from the Willys Knight. Hard pass.

Mustang II Concept

Showing considerable evolution toward the final product, the Mustang II concept was first revealed to the public on October 5, 1963, at Watkins Glen. While the steeply raked windshield was not intended for production, the general shape of the roof was there and its flanks were getting very close. Up front, the headlights were radical, although the grille was almost dead on. This was the first time the public had seen a running Mustang enclosed in its corral.

Uncanny Valley

To prove just how iconic and specific the galloping Mustang iconography is tied to the Mustang, look at how unsettling it is when one simple detail is altered. We've got a feeling there's a universe where Ford picked this version and detective Lieutenant Bullitt drove a Firebird, the Miracle on Ice never happened, and Seinfeld was canceled after the pilot.

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