Ford modernizes a classic

The Ford Mustang has one of the most extensive histories in the industry. With more than five decades and six generations under its belt,  it's no surprise why the Mustang is the world's best selling sports car for five years straight.

In an attempt to one-up themselves, the company has stated that the upcoming 2021 Mustang Mach 1 will present the ‘best track performance’ of any 5-liter Mustang in the vehicle’s history.

The latest model will breathe life into the Mach 1 nameplate after being unused for 17 years. It is quite similar to a Mustang GT but with a more aggressive exterior and some parts coming from the Shelby GT350.

But what does it really take to modernize this legendary nameplate? 

The engineering and design team handles the overall architecture of the all-new Mustang Mach 1, while Dave Mahoney, Ford's design manager, is pouring all of his talents in modernizing its classic logo.

Mahoney, with the help of his team, has created a layout that is inspired by their colleagues and a goal to pay homage to the vehicle’s past while looking in the future.

“From a brand standpoint, that vintage Mach 1 logo has such a classic look; there was a lot that we didn’t want to lose. The unique letters, the outline – it was important to keep those features. What we did do is make it more modern, which really suits the new car," said Mahoney. 

The reverence to the past is in the form of the playful letter styling, which includes the easily identifiable down-sized lowercase “h.”, while the graphic design team integrated a modernized, bolder sans-serif font for it to have a more up to date meaning. 

“When a nameplate like a Mach 1 comes back, you need to play up the heritage, but we didn’t want this to be a retro badge," adds Dean Carbis, Ford's chief designer. "We wanted it to be modern, while still calling back to the original. I think the team nailed it.” 

The modernized logo can be distinguished in various parts of the Reformed Mach 1.  Placed on the hood stripe, front fenders and rear appliqué, on the strut tower brace under the hood, as well as inside on the door sills, digital instrument cluster and center stack touch screen during vehicle startup. An engraved badge that is located in the dash presents the new logo with every vehicle’s unique identification number.

The limited-edition 2021 Mustang Mach 1 will arrive in U.S. and Canadian Ford dealerships next year. 

Photos from Ford

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