Classic Cars with History: the Spanish Mustang Sedan

The Spanish Mustang is the story of a car project that never came to fruition in the practically underdeveloped Spanish automotive industry of the 1960s. The Mustang was a five-seat, four-door saloon which, incidentally, had nothing to do with the legendary Ford Mustang being born in Detroit in those years, apart from the coincidence of the name.

Designed by Enrique López Patau, the sedan featured a Perkins 4-99 diesel engine with 4 cylinders in line, a displacement of 1621 cc, and a compression ratio of 20:1, a 4-speed gearbox (of Seat), drum brakes, a top speed of 110 km/h and an average consumption of 7 litres per 100 km.

As mentioned, Mr Patau began the approval process with the Ministry of Industry, obtaining permission to build 25 pre-production units, of which only two saw the light of day. But by 1960, the Zaragoza entrepreneur Angelino Vincenzo agreed with Patau to develop a larger model, using the same brand and the permit to build the 23 remaining units of the original 25 granted by the Ministry of Industry.

Finally presented in 1964, the Mustang was revealed to the press as a rustic saloon, which was well suited for use as a taxi. However, the 10,000 units planned for 1966 were never built due to manufacturing cost problems. Some say that only the 23 units approved by the Ministry of Industry were made, while others say that just between 3 and 5 units were built, and still others note that all the cars, except one, were exported to Argentina during those years.

Whatever the mystery, it seems that the only Mustang sedan to have survived is the car shown in these photos, rescued and restored almost from scratch thanks to the dedication of a collector from Zaragoza.

Via | Autopasión18

More information | Tiempo de Clásicos