BLADERUNNER
Well-known member
1961 Avventura, Avanti, Allegro
From late 1961 to mid-1962, Ford designers experimented with a wide range of themes for a sporty coupe based on the platform of the new Falcon compact. Each design was given an internal name, but one fastback design actually had at least three names, starting with Avventura before moving on to Avanti and finally Allegro. As the sketch shows, the fastback design was originally intended to be a hatchback with rear-facing second row seat. Although it was never produced, a variation of the fastback profile was eventually adopted as the third body-style for Mustang.
Avanti/Allegro Concept
The transition from sketch to physical design model saw the Avventura losing the hatch, which was replaced with a trunk, while the rear seat was now forward-facing. The study was originally known as Avanti, but the name was changed to Allegro because Studebaker had introduced the Avanti coupe around the same time.
1961-1962 Two-Seater Studies
Ford designers considered a number of two-seater studies, which were seen as a more affordable return to the roots of Thunderbird, which by this time had become a four-seater. Interestingly, there has never been a strictly two-seat production Mustang, with the exception of some track-oriented models that had the rear seats removed to save weight.
1962 Allegro Design Study
Another Allegro design surfaced in 1962 as the work of a design team led by Gene Bordinat. This particular study is responsible for the basic proportions that would define most Mustangs for the next five decades: the long hood, short deck and compact greenhouse became a hallmark of production Mustangs ever since.
1963 Two-Seat, Mid-Engine Mustang Concept
This hard-top variation of the Mustang 1 concept from 1962 was probably never seriously considered for production as a Mustang, but it did provide some inspiration for the GT40 Mk1 that began racing at Le Mans in 1964.
1964 Two Seater Study
This is a clay model from 1964 representing a two-seat Mustang. The model incorporates some of the design cues of the first generation Mustang, more specifically the 1965 model year, including the side scoops.
1965 Four-Door Mustang
The success of the first-generation Mustang made Ford execs think about new body-styles to gain even more customers. As the Mustang was based on the Falcon sedan, the idea to add two doors to the pony car was inevitable. Fortunately, the design didn’t get approved and the Mustang legend was not diluted.
1966 Mustang Station Wagon
Another bodystyle that was seriously considered in the mid-1960s was a station wagon. At least one running prototype based on a 1966 coupe was built, while another design study included elements for refreshed models that were coming later that decade. All of the known Mustang wagons were three-doors that were closer to a European “shooting brake” than a traditional American family station wagon.
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