1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 - Cool Cars

What you’re looking at here is almost five litres of solid American muscle.

This is a 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 - the version for people who wanted a Mustang with more power and a more aggressive look.

The Mach 1 package got buyers a bigger engine, honeycomb grille, side stripes, sportier seats, better suspension, and the knowledge that they weren’t just in a Mustang - they were in a Mach 1. There’s good, and then there’s better.

The car cuts an interesting silhouette. It doesn’t look much like a Mustang - it looks more like a Lotus Europa, or a ‘69 Barracuda (the colour of this car looking like the fish of the same name). The platform is the same size as the regular model at 4.8m long (also the same size as a current-gen Mustang), but the snout extends far beyond the driver and the fastback far behind, giving the driver a central seating position in the wheelbase.

It sits on 14” wheels - much smaller than the 17” ones today’s version comes with, despite the car being the same size - which will make the power that little bit more lairy. And on the subject of power…

In true 70s muscle car fashion, its bark is worse than its bite. The 4.9L V8 engine of this spec makes a whopping… 210bhp. Yes, about as much as a Golf GTI, or an Audi TT. From an engine that’s over double the size. For comparison, a modern-day Mustang makes 315bhp from a 2.3L turbo EcoBoost engine, or 480bhp from its current 5.0L V8. A fair upgrade for an engine that’s the same size.

It is worth remembering that this car is over 50 years old now, and that it’s the lowest-powered of the ‘71 Mach 1 model year variants. Ford produced six Mach 1 versions in 1971 alone, with the most powerful - the 7.0L (yes, seven-litre!) V8 producing 375bhp. The standard Mustang of that year came with just 145bhp, so the Mach 1 version was a considerable upgrade, even at the lower end.

Contemporaries like the Chevrolet Camaro SS came with 270bhp and the Pontiac Firebird had a 250bhp option, but they just weren’t a Mustang. The vehicle is synonymous with pony cars - you can’t help but think of a Mustang when you think of one. This is partly because the model created the category but, if you’re anything like me, to drive something other than a Mustang when you have the option to drive a Mustang would just be wrong. It would be incorrect. Improper. 

James Bond drove a 1971 Mustang Mach 1 in Diamonds Are Forever. John Wick drove a Mustang. Steve McQueen drove a Mustang. Cool people drive Mustangs. Don’t you want to be a cool person?

Power’s not everything. Sure its 5.0L V8 turning petrol into noise first and speed second might seem weak by today’s standards, but it’s a Mustang. The joy is in the journey, not the destination and, if the journey’s in a Mustang, I’m happy to be slightly down on power and spend more time behind the wheel, being a cool person.