They say that legends are born once in awhile, but Ford Mustang is that piece of marvel that repeats its legendary victory every year. Introduced in the year 1964, this American pony has completed its successful 53 years of long run without missing even a single year of production, which is quite an achievement in itself considering the changing trends and needs of the society. Call it the effect of the name or simply the true engineering traits, Mustang's racing prowess is undoubtedly the best in its class. Many of us have been die-hard fans of this legend but there are few things about Ford Mustang that we were unaware of. Here are some of them to give you an adrenaline rush:

Breakout Hit

It at least takes a year or so for a new name to establish its say in the market but as we say, Ford Mustang is iconic in every sense and this is the reason why this new nameplate reached a soaring sales volume in the first two years of its launch in the market. On its first day of launch, the company claimed to sold more than 22,000 units of Mustang, which reached to a figure of 4,18,810 units by the end of the year. The demand was so high that in its early days, the company was selling the Mustang as fast as it could build it. Within two years the company sold more than 1 million Mustangs, whereas it was forecasted that Ford couldn't even cross the mark of 1,00,000 units of Mustang in the first year.

By 1965, it became the most popular car of America.

The first Mustang was sold Accidently

Yes, the first model of Mustang was a convertible with serial number 5F08F100001 that was a preproduction model intended to be used as a sample for promotional purposes and not for selling but it was sold accidently to a Canadian who was an airline pilot by profession. It took almost 2 years for Ford to convince Stanley Tucker (the first customer) where in exchange he took the 1 millionth 1966 Mustang. (A very poor deal I must say)

The first model is now residing in the Henry Ford Museum.

Racing in Blood

Mustang has been born with a racing blood and this is the reason why it has been able to register many races on its name in 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s. Some of the notable wins include the names of 67 short track oval feature race and NHRA Pro Stock title. The winningest Mustang in the world belongs to John Force, which has proved its winning capability in 44 races. In fact you will be shocked to know that the first ever Mustang was made to run on the Grand Prix circuit at Watkins Glen and it was only a few seconds off from the Formula 1 race cars' times.

Ford Mustang a Ford Cougar?

Going by the early sketches of the Mustang, one may found out that the in 1963 many emblems and badges were created and designed with the name Cougar but the extensive market research made the company settle on the name Mustang. However, later the company unveiled another model by the name Mercury Cougar, so the name finally got used in some other form.

Another story that revolves around this American pony was that its name has been inspired from a P-51 Mustang fighter plane of the World War II. The Designer, John Najjar, pitched the company with this name but the company rejected it saying that the name is too airplaney. Lately he pitched the same name but this time as a type of horse and the company accepted. Other suggested names for the car were Torino, Avventura and Allegro.

Red Mustang - The All Time Favorite

People generally settle for light colors when it comes to cars, either they are buying economy cars from Maruti, Honda, etc. or luxury cars from the house of BMW, Mercedes, Audi and many more. But like we said earlier, Ford Mustang is a class apart. Among all the colors available for Mustang to choose from, the maximum sold out color was Red followed by Blue, Sliver, White and Black. In 80s and 90s, 1 out every 5 Mustangs was painted red.

Mustang is a Popular Movie Hero

No, we are not saying that Ford Mustang has been named after a popular Hollywood hero but this car has played the role of a star in many movies, credits to its good looks and legendary performance. Bullitt was the first movie to feature Ford Mustang and this might have propelled it to the star status it earned from McQueens. The company even released a model named Mustang Bullitt on the 40th anniversary of the movie. Apart from these two, Mustang also appeared in James Bond series – Goldfinger and Diamonds, and as Eleanor in Gone in 60 Seconds. Overall the figure has crossed the mark of 3000, including TV shows too.

Awards Winner too

Not only Ford Mustang has made its prominent place in our hearts but has won many awards since the time it breathed its first. It received its first award – Tiffany Gold Medal of Excellence in American Design – in 1965 and became to first car to receive this award. Other awards' names include the likes of Car and Drive Ten Best List for the years 1983, 87, 88, 2005, 06 and 2011. It also registered 1974 and 1994 Motor Trend Car of the Year Award on its name.

Sold for $1.3 Million

You will be surprised to know that Ford Mustang was sold for $1.3 million in an auction in 2013. The model was the 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake, which was a rare model with only 1 production unit. In fact, most of the Mustangs have touched a price bracket of $500,000 to $1 million at bids, which make this model extremely valuable at such bids.

Ford Mustang Convertible Went Missing for 10 Years

Yes, for the consecutive 10 years, that is, from 1973 to 1983, the convertible Mustang was not into production due to some mysterious reason. The company took long time to realize that people's love for Mustang was majorly based on its retractable roof feature. It went back into production in 1983.

Unique Way of Promoting Breast Cancer Awareness

Ford left no stone unturned to make the society realized that it cares for them and this is the reason why the company released a special edition of Mustang by the name of "Warriors in Pink" to promote breast cancer awareness and to raise money to donate to the charities fighting for the cause. The company successfully raised more than $120 million for this noble cause.

Iconic 50th Birthday Celebration for an Icon

The model completed its successful 50 years in 2014 and to celebrate it in a unique way, the company took the parts of the newly refurbished 2015 Mustang GT convertible in a freight elevator to the Empire State Building's top to assemble it in the sky to mark its return in the market with a new design.

High on Publicity

At the time of its launch in 1964, it adopted a smart advertising strategy and for that it paid a hefty amount to 3 major TV channels to aware the mass about the upcoming launch. Nearly 2600 newspapers published the Mustang's launch and more than 29 million people viewed it. The company even put hoardings of its launch in 60 high traffic places in US, covering 180 markets, including billboards, airport terminals and Holiday Inns.