Photo: Mecum Auctions
In the rarified air of top-tier collector's cars, the Mustang doesn’t normally have a place. This fellow here, however, is no ordinary pony car, but the genesis of the breed. This is 5F07U100002, the first VIN assigned to a hardtop Mustang.
Slated to go under the hammer at Mecum Auctions’ Indy 2017 sale, serial number 00002 has been with the same owner since the year 1997. The Caspian Blue over Blue pony had its body transferred from the pilot plant in Allen Park to the Dearborn facility to become a pre-production VIN car, and as you might’ve guessed from the 13-inch skinny tires, it doesn’t hide a V8 under the hood.
The engine bay is full of 170 cubic inches (2.8 liter) of Thriftpower inline-six, running a one-barrel carburetor. Connected to a three-speed manual, the entry-level motor was good for 105 hp and 156 lb-ft back in 1964. It’s not exactly mind-boggling performance, but then again, don’t forget that this Mustang has more historical significance than other first-generation cars.
“What about the first-ever Mustang?” About that, VIN 5F08F100001 went official in February 1964, rolling off the assembly line as a convertible. It, together with 5F07U100002, were manufactured so that Canadian dealers would have the Mustang in their showrooms for introduction day, April 17.
All in all, it’s estimated that anything between 150 to 180 pre-production vehicles were built between February 10 and March 5, 1964. In the book “Mustang Genesis,” Bob Fria underlines that Ford didn’t necessarily build Mustangs consecutively by VIN. As if that wasn’t abnormal enough, Fria learned that 100002 never made it to the Mustang’s introduction in April.
"The Caspian Blue hardtop was somehow misrouted,” ending up at a dealership in Yukon in May 1964. But as fate would have it, the passing of time was good to the first two units of the Mustang.
The convertible (100001) is currently owned by Ford and it’s displayed at the Henry Ford Museum. The hardtop Mustang (100002), meanwhile, is looking for a new owner. And as expected from such a once-in-a-lifetime proposition, there's no estimate on this pony.
The engine bay is full of 170 cubic inches (2.8 liter) of Thriftpower inline-six, running a one-barrel carburetor. Connected to a three-speed manual, the entry-level motor was good for 105 hp and 156 lb-ft back in 1964. It’s not exactly mind-boggling performance, but then again, don’t forget that this Mustang has more historical significance than other first-generation cars.
“What about the first-ever Mustang?” About that, VIN 5F08F100001 went official in February 1964, rolling off the assembly line as a convertible. It, together with 5F07U100002, were manufactured so that Canadian dealers would have the Mustang in their showrooms for introduction day, April 17.
All in all, it’s estimated that anything between 150 to 180 pre-production vehicles were built between February 10 and March 5, 1964. In the book “Mustang Genesis,” Bob Fria underlines that Ford didn’t necessarily build Mustangs consecutively by VIN. As if that wasn’t abnormal enough, Fria learned that 100002 never made it to the Mustang’s introduction in April.
"The Caspian Blue hardtop was somehow misrouted,” ending up at a dealership in Yukon in May 1964. But as fate would have it, the passing of time was good to the first two units of the Mustang.
The convertible (100001) is currently owned by Ford and it’s displayed at the Henry Ford Museum. The hardtop Mustang (100002), meanwhile, is looking for a new owner. And as expected from such a once-in-a-lifetime proposition, there's no estimate on this pony.
Google News