Before the Mustang became a household name, it was something far more exotic. The Ford Mustang I was a sleek, low-slung two-seat concept car with a rear-mounted V-4 engine — a layout that had nothing in common with anything Ford had built before. It looked like it belonged on a European road course, not in a Detroit showroom.
Ford chose racing driver Dan Gurney to put the car in front of the public for the first time. In October 1962, Gurney demonstrated the Mustang I at the United States Grand Prix held at Watkins Glen, New York. The car turned heads immediately. It was fast, compact, and looked nothing like the family vehicles Ford was known for selling.
Later that same month, Gurney brought the car west to Laguna Seca Raceway near Monterey, California, for the 1962 Pacific Grand Prix. The vintage photographs featured here were taken at that event, capturing the Mustang I on the track and in the paddock during one of its earliest and most important public appearances.
Laguna Seca was already a respected venue on the American road racing calendar by 1962. Its winding layout through the California hills made it a true test of a car’s handling. For Ford, it was the perfect stage to show what the Mustang I could do in a real racing environment.
Gurney was one of the most respected drivers in the world at the time. His presence behind the wheel gave the demonstration real credibility. He wasn’t simply showing off a display piece — he was running the car hard around a proper circuit, giving spectators a genuine look at what the Mustang I was capable of.
The Mustang I’s rear-mounted V-4 engine set it apart from conventional American cars of the era. Most domestic vehicles used large front-mounted engines driving the rear wheels. The Mustang I’s mid-rear layout gave it a lower center of gravity and better weight balance — qualities prized in sports car racing.
Its body was low and wide, with smooth lines that hugged the ground. The two-seat cockpit was open to the air, giving it a pure, no-frills racing feel. Every design choice on the car pointed toward performance rather than comfort or practicality.
The crowds at Laguna Seca got a close look at the car in the paddock area as well as on track. These photos capture both settings, showing the Mustang I surrounded by onlookers and then in motion on the circuit. The car drew significant attention wherever it appeared that month.
Ford’s goal with the Mustang I was to explore what a true American sports car could look like. It was a concept vehicle, never intended for mass production. But the response it generated told Ford’s designers and executives something important about what buyers wanted.
By 1964, Ford had taken the Mustang name in a very different direction. The production Mustang that launched that year was a four-seater built for the everyday buyer — affordable, stylish, and available with a wide range of engines. It generated enormous excitement of its own and became one of the best-selling cars in American history.
The two cars shared a name but almost nothing else. Where the Mustang I was a narrow, mid-engined two-seater aimed at motorsport, the 1964 production Mustang was a front-engined, four-seat pony car aimed at families and young drivers. The name carried over; the concept did not.
The original Mustang I survived the decades and is now on permanent display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, as part of the Driving America exhibit. Visitors can see the car that started it all — the sharp little racer that Gurney piloted around Watkins Glen and Laguna Seca in the fall of 1962.
These photographs from the 1962 Pacific Grand Prix are a direct record of the Mustang I in action. They show the car as racing fans and journalists saw it that day — low to the ground, moving through the curves of Laguna Seca, with Gurney at the wheel.
