A pony lover’s dream auction

Tucked away into the inconspicuously named ‘Lot R403’, Mecum Auctions presents a mint 1965 Ford Mustang. However, this is not just any old pony; it is probably the rarest of them all — the first hardtop to receive a serial number, Mustang #5F07U100002. Not only that, but its history is intriguing: it was originally destined to be shipped to Vancouver for its world debut on April 17, 1964, but, due to a logistical error, the car was sent all the way to a dealership in Whitehorse, Yukon, where it worked as a dealer demo for a period and was then sold the following year, like any other car — an extremely unique find.

For the past two decades, Bob Fria has been unravelling the tale of the Caspian Blue hardtop. It was the early VIN that first piqued his interest, but it wasn’t until the restoration disassembly that Fria discovered production oddities, including prototype sheet- metal stampings and welds unlike those found on later Mustangs. As he dug into the car’s history by interviewing former Ford employees, and became friends with Lee Iacocca — known for spearheading the development of Ford Mustang — along the way, he became the foremost authority on early Mustang development, especially the hectic first few months of 1964 as Ford prepared its new car for production.

Only a few of the pre-production 1965 Mustangs survive today, including the first two serialized 1965 cars. The convertible, 00001, is owned by Ford Motor Company and displayed at The Henry Ford museum. The historic first-serialized Mustang hardtop, 00002, was displayed at Ford World Headquarters during Ford’s 100th anniversary, and has been photographed with Iacocca. There is only one ‘first’, and this one, Lot R403, will go under the hammer at the May 16–21 Mecum Auction.