So What Happened To Ford's Little Sports Car?

The purpose of the Mustang l concept was to develop a small displacement mid-engine two seat spider for consumer sales as well as racing to compete in FIA category 9 against the likes of the MG 1600 and the Sunbeam Alpine. It was a product of Ford's 'Fairlane Division' under Lee Iacocca. It used the 1.5 liter V4 from the German Ford Cardinal that would be sold in two forms: an 89 HP street version and a 109 HP race version both hooked up to a 4 speed transaxle. The body was built for maximum rigidity with even the seats being part of the chassis. With its low windscreen and integral roll bar, it could have made a formidable and fun to drive little two seater. Unfortunately, the Mustang brand morphed into a tame little sporty 4 seater that before Carroll Shelby got a hold of it, I felt at the time that, for all the hooplah and sales, it was just the perfect car for a dad to buy for his daughter to commute to college. In my mind, it was a real "Ho Hum".