Over the years, the automobile has evolved from a simple vessel used to transport people from point to point, into a representative of the driver's personality. The automotive industry has established itself as a cornerstone of intelligent economies and as a result, hundreds of models have flooded showrooms all across the world. Customers looking to purchase a car are now spoiled with choice. For every type of personality, there are multiple car options made by different manufacturers, thus making the decision to buy a new car all the more difficult.
Ford Mustang at Auto Expo 2016
When speaking of how cars are now representatives of a person's personality, few examples can claim to have a more profound connection with its fans or owners than the iconic Ford Mustang. The 6th generation all-American pony car is all set to roll out on Indian roads in the upcoming year after making its grand bow to the Indian public at Auto Expo 2016.
After clinching top honours in the category of Best of Show 4-Wheeler alongside the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza at the NDTV CNB Auto Expo Awards for Excellence 2016, we decided to pay homage to the legendary pony car by taking you through a drive through history and showcasing 5 of the most famous appearances made by the Mustang on the silver screen.
1. Goldfinger (1964)
Tania Mallet poses next to the 1964 Ford Mustang that she drove in Goldfinger
Goldfinger has been one of the most successful and popular Bond flicks of all times. Featuring the dashing Sean Connery as James Bond and the lovely Tania Mallet as Tilly Masterson, the movie made automotive history by unveiling the Ford Mustang to the public. Ford launched the Mustang in mid-1964 whereas the movie came out in cinemas at the end of the same year. Despite the lead car honours in the movie going to the Aston Martin DB5 driven by Bond, Ford did supply many of its products for the making of the movie, none more important than the Ford Mustang driven by Tilly Masterson. One of the most memorable scenes in the movie was the car chase between Masterson in her '64 'Stang and Sean Connery (Bond) in his tricked-out DB5. Needless to say, thanks to the tyre shredders on the DB5, Bond won that race. And then got the girl.
2. Bullitt (1968)
1968 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 390 Fastback from Steve McQueen's Bullitt
No movie announced the Mustang's 'bad-boy' attitude to the world better than Steve McQueen's Bullitt which launched in 1968. The movie includes one of the most famous car chase sequences of all time involving a Dodge Charger, with some baddies in it, being chased around San Francisco's steeply sloped roadways by McQueen in his green Shelby-tuned '68 Mustang GT 390 Fastback. In fact, Bullitt played such a big part in launching the Mustang into automotive folklore that Ford actually paid tribute to McQueen's car by making a special edition tribute model in 2001 called the Ford Mustang Bullitt GT.
3. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 from the Jame Bond flick, Diamonds Are Forever
High speed car chases have almost become synonymous with James Bond as we see Sean Connery for a 2nd time on this list. Despite showing a glimpse of the Aston Martin DBS (the British sports car maker is well known to be Bond's preferred choice of wheels) in Diamonds Are Forever, the '71 Mustang Mach 1 was the more active of the 2 cars in the movie. One of film's most popular scenes sees Connery casually lose a fleet of cop-cars in a parking lot before losing the sheriff's car as well by driving Tiffany Case's Mustang through a narrow alley on 2-wheels. Interestingly, most of the cars destroyed during the making of the movie were Fords. The American company supposedly gave the producers access to as many cars as they wanted just as long as Bond was seen behind the wheel of a 'Stang in the movie.
4. Gone in 60 Seconds (1974 and 2000)
1974 Ford Mustang, or 'Eleanor,' from the original Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)
Despite not making it to the list of all time cinema masterpieces, Gone in 60 Seconds, both the original and the 21st century remake, are popular among car buffs around the world because of Eleanor. The movie revolves around a chop shop owner and car theft ring leader who is forced into stealing 48 cars for a South American drug lord. Eleanor is the codename given to the lead character's (first played by Henry Halicki and then by Nicolas Cage) most feared and revered target; a Mustang.
Eleanor, the 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500 from the 2000 remake of Gone in 60 Seconds
While the original movie featured a 1973 Mustang Mach 1 SportsRoof, the more recent version which released in 2001 featured a gorgeous '67 Mustang Shelby GT 500. Not only did the movie give the Mustang even more screen time, but the character built around 'Eleanor' managed to derive a deep connection between car and audience.
5. Transformers (2007)
'Barricade' or the 2007 Ford Mustang Saleen S281 Extreme from the movie Transformers
I have to admit, as a car and robot enthusiast, the action flick Transformers really did it for me personally. Besides Shia LaBeouf's yellow and black Chevrolet Camaro, which turned out to be his guardian angel, another famous pony car made an appearance albeit as a member of team-villain: a positively evil looking 2007 Mustang called Barricade, dressed in black and white American police interceptor attire. One of the most iconic fight scenes in the movie is when Bumblebee (the name of the robot that the Camaro turns into) fights Barricade while trying to protect the characters played by LaBeouf and Megan Fox. Barricade's automotive form is a stunning 2007 Ford Mustang Saleen S281 Extreme. Barricade follows the Camaro to an abandoned construction site where the Camaro's 2 human occupant are flung aside to safety while both cars transformed into robots and proceeded to have an epic battle scene.
