In
addition to the usual changes like new headlights to meet local
regulations, Ford Mustangs destined for the German market between 1964
and 1979 also got one more change – they were rebadged as Ford T5.
The removal of the Mustang branding came because German truck manufacturer Krupp owned the Mustang trademark in Germany and sold trucks with that branding for many years. Rather than fight over the rights to the name, Ford opted to re-badge the pony car as T5, which had been used as the internal project code during development of Mustang.
The soon-to-be iconic galloping horse emblems were retained, but the fender badges, rear gas cap and steering wheel branding were all replaced with T5 emblems.
Other than the branding, the mechanical changes to T5, as well as to Mustangs for other countries, were mostly limited to replacing the exterior lighting to meet European regulations, as well as some suspension tuning changes and installation of the shock tower brace from the Shelby GT350 to better suit continental roads.
Mustang was sold in Germany with T5 badging from 1964 through introduction of the third-generation 1979 model.
In many export markets including Germany, Mustang and T5 were available through select Ford dealers as well as a secondary channel, the United States military’s P-X system where personnel who were stationed overseas could buy a wide variety of personal items including cars.
“Over the years, many of T5s that ended up in civilian hands in Europe were first purchased by soldiers stationed in Germany,” said John Clor, Ford Mustang historian and author of The Mustang Dynasty. “Some soldiers had their cars shipped back stateside at the end of their tour of duty while others sold them to German civilians.”
Of the more than 4,000 Mustangs sold outside North America in 2012, nearly one in four was sold through military channels.
The removal of the Mustang branding came because German truck manufacturer Krupp owned the Mustang trademark in Germany and sold trucks with that branding for many years. Rather than fight over the rights to the name, Ford opted to re-badge the pony car as T5, which had been used as the internal project code during development of Mustang.
The soon-to-be iconic galloping horse emblems were retained, but the fender badges, rear gas cap and steering wheel branding were all replaced with T5 emblems.
Other than the branding, the mechanical changes to T5, as well as to Mustangs for other countries, were mostly limited to replacing the exterior lighting to meet European regulations, as well as some suspension tuning changes and installation of the shock tower brace from the Shelby GT350 to better suit continental roads.
Mustang was sold in Germany with T5 badging from 1964 through introduction of the third-generation 1979 model.
In many export markets including Germany, Mustang and T5 were available through select Ford dealers as well as a secondary channel, the United States military’s P-X system where personnel who were stationed overseas could buy a wide variety of personal items including cars.
“Over the years, many of T5s that ended up in civilian hands in Europe were first purchased by soldiers stationed in Germany,” said John Clor, Ford Mustang historian and author of The Mustang Dynasty. “Some soldiers had their cars shipped back stateside at the end of their tour of duty while others sold them to German civilians.”
Of the more than 4,000 Mustangs sold outside North America in 2012, nearly one in four was sold through military channels.
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