Is it a horse? Is it a plane? How the Ford Mustang got its name

Monday, 23 September 2019

The Mustang was named after a plane, right? The legendary P-51 Mustang that helped win World War II and establish America as a post-war superpower - the perfect name for an all-American car.

Wait, wasn't it named after the horse? The wild mustangs that roam the American plains are the perfect symbol of American freedom, just like Ford's new car would be.

No, no; Lee Iacocca is actually quoted as saying it was named after a college football team that inspired him with their athleticism, just like his new sports car would inspire America.

Just what exactly was the Ford Mustang named after?

* The best Mustang GT you can buy in NZ is a used one: specifically this one

* Ford's donated one-off 'Ole Yeller' Mustang sells for NZ$407,000**

The plane story

The vast majority of automotive historians accept that the Mustang was named after the P-51 fighter from WWII.

Ford designer John Najjar was involved in the design of the Mustang prototype and was also a big fan of the P-51.

The design brief behind the Mustang was to develop a vehicle that would 'embody the American spirit' and as far as Najjar was concerned, nothing was more American than the plane that helped establish the United States as one of the remaining superpowers around the world.

He pitched the idea to Ford's higher-ups, who loved the name, but weren't so keen on the fighter plane association…

The horse story

Animal names had been high in the mix for the Mustang since the very start - the car was even developed wearing the Cougar name, complete with a logo.

The plane association was rejected partly because of the difficulty creating an appropriate logo, but a galloping horse? That was perfect.

Two 'horse' theories exist - one is that Najjar re-pitched his Mustang name, but with a horse association instead, while another claims that Ford market research manager and horse breeder Robert J. Eggert suggested the name after his wife gave a book about horses titled The Mustangs.

If it was named after a horse, then Ford sure has been taking photos of the Mustang in front of the wrong thing for quite some time.

The sports team story

Around the time of the Mustang's development, Lee Iacocca attended a football game where he visited the locker room of the South Methodist University team - known as the Mustangs - for a post-game chat.

It was reported in a University press release that Iacocca told the team 'After watching the SMU Mustangs play with such flair, we reached a decision. We will call our new car the Mustang. Because it will be light, like your team; It will be quick, like your team; And it will be sporty, like your team.'

An animal name was always likely for the Mustang - yes, that is a weird, skinny cougar on the grille.

While a nice story, the timing didn't line up and it was almost certainly Iacocca taking advantage of some free publicity…

The Ford story

The official Ford story dances gently between the Horse Theory and the Plane Theory, never quite settling on either, no doubt for fear of enraging the die-hard fans that believe either theory to be absolute. But it does lean more towards the plane.

Lee Iacocca (front passenger side) is regarded as the father of the Mustang. But he wasn't above spinning the origins of the Mustang name for some free publicity.

One of Phil Clark's early Mustang logo designs. Flip it to face the left and it is heading into the wild west and freedom.

Ford has played up the plane link for a long time (see the video above too), without ever definitively confirming it.

While Ford of Europe did specify that it was the P-51 in a recent press release, an earlier statement from Ford US walks a tighter line, asking the question:

'An enduring question about Ford Mustang, even after nearly 50 years on the road, is the origin of its name. Does it honour the famed P-51 fighter plane of World War II? Or the wild horse of the American West? Depends who you ask. The real question for Mustang fans: does it even matter?'

The (probably) real story

The most likely answer about the origin of the Mustang name is; 'it was both, really.'

Najjar is on record as stating his version of events, while Eggert is only quoted by secondary sources and Iacocca later denied the sports team version completely. But the association of both the horse and the plane were perfect for Ford's vision of American spirit and freedom it wanted to project with the Mustang.

Also, it handily coincided with a logo of a galloping horse designer Phil Clark had already been dabbling with for several years - they simply switched the direction so it was galloping left (heading out to the wild American west) and history was made.