1971 Ford Mustang Convertible (RHD)

The original and, many would argue, the best of the Ponycars was the legendary Ford Mustang, a marketing triumph born in 1964 as a 1965 model, and honed every successive year before being replaced for 1974 with the very different Mustang II. The fourth generation of the original Mustang saw a longer, lower and generally larger body outline introduced for 1971, with European inspired styling and three basic shapes - SportsRoof, Hardtop and Convertible - were offered. The Mustang had grown up, reflecting the trend in Detroit towards larger, more luxurious automobiles. By the early 1970s, brute power and high performance were no longer in vogue and the 1971 Mustang was no exception, with only the Boss 351 model available to satisfy those wanting a sporting Ponycar. Trim options included the Grande version of the hardtop and Mach 1 package with distinctive styling additions shared with the Boss 351. All convertible models received power tops as standard, a glass rear windscreen, colour-keyed boot and tinted windscreen. Safety features were becoming more common, with side-impact protection in the doors, and the choice of engines included the evergreen 302-cid V8, developing 210 hp with a compression ratio of 9.0:1.