Accolades

Championed by Ford Division general manager Lee Iacocca first as a two-seat mid engined roadster then later as a four-place car and penned by David Ash and Joseph Oros in Ford's Lincoln-Mercury Division design studios (theirs was the winning design in an intramural design contest called by Iacocca), the base, yet well-equipped Mustang hardtop with its 105 horsepower (78 kW), 170 in³ (2.8 L) inline six-cylinder engine and three-speed manual transmission listed for US$2,368. Looking like a car that cost hundreds of dollars more with its "long hood/short deck" styling reminiscent of designs such as the Lincoln Continental and two seat Ford Thunderbird with an intentional touch of Ferrari at the grille, the Mustang earned a number of prestigious auto industry awards and accolades its first year including Motor Trend Car of the Year, pace car duties for the 1964 Indianapolis 500 and the Tiffany Design Award for "excellence in design," the first automobile so honored.