Maisto 1:18 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1, Metallic Green

The Ford Mustang was successfully introduced in April 1964 as a sporty pony car to attract younger buyers into Ford products. After a few years of development, Ford saw the need to create performance Mustangs to compete with GM and their release of the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird.

As the performance war continued, the Mustang's platform and engine bay were progressively redesigned to accommodate larger engine blocks. Late in the 1968 model year, Ford introduced the 428 cu in (7.0 L) Cobra Jet FE engine in a small group of Mustang GTs and into the 1968 Shelby GT500KR. This was a strong performer and indicated the direction of the 1969 Mustang. However, "GT" was deemed insufficient to describe performance, thus the Mach 1 model name was introduced.