Designer's Ford Mustang original sketch he drew on his porch is nearly identical to the finished product

The original sketch for the Ford Mustang was drawn up on the designer’s porch and looks nearly identical to the finished product.

The first Ford Mustang made its debut at the New York World’s Fair on April 17, 1964.

It would go on to become a huge success throughout the rest of the decade and remains a household name to this day.

And it’s remarkable to think that it all began with a sketch drawn up by Gale Halderman on his porch.

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The Ford Mustang original sketch looked remarkably similar to the real car

When the Ford Mustang made its debut at the New York World’s Fair in April 1964, car history was made.

This style of car was so distinctive from others of that era, with its sporty look and long hood.

Everybody wanted a piece of this car, including Stanley Tucker, the man who got his hands on the first Mustang.

Incidentally, he was also the man to get the one millionth Ford Mustang.

Tucker wasn’t the only man to play a pivotal role in the first Ford Mustang.

After all, every car needs a designer, right?

Gale Halderman was the man for the job, having started work on the Mustang in 1962 and having joined the company in 1957.

This car began with a simple design that he drew up on his porch.

In the book A Century of Automotive Style: 100 Years of American Car Design, the story of the first Mustang design was laid out.

“Gale Halderman made some sketches at home; he hadn’t had time to do them at work because of the deadline for the 1965 big Ford,” authors Michael Lamm and Dave Holls wrote.

“[Joe] Oros liked one of Haldeman’s sketches and handed it to Charlie Phaneuf in the Ford pre-production studio.

“Phaneuf combined Haldeman’s ideas with the silhouette of the 1956 Continental Mark II, a car Phaneuf had also worked on.

“Phaneuf scaled the whole thing down to fit the Falcon platform.”

Halderman recalled working ‘day and night’ over 10 days to come up with a ‘great design’.

Of course, Halderman wasn’t the only person involved in the design process, although he penned the original sketch.

But The Dayton Daily News probably said it best when it wrote: “The most striking thing about the 40-year Ford employee was Haldeman’s humility.

“For many years, Halderman did not receive much attention for being the Mustang’s original designer, preferring to let others take the credit.”

The later years of Gale Halderman

Halderman would go on to lead the Mustang design studio between 1971 and 1973, working alongside other designers who spoke highly of him, Motorcities.org reported.

When he retired, he stayed connected to the Mustang community and even set up a museum in Tipp City, Ohio.

The Gale Halderman Museum, which takes up 1,500 square feet, is open by appointment only.

Halderman passed away in 2020 at the age of 87, leading to a deluge of tributes from the automotive industry.

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