While the 1965 Mustang was an overnight success, its basic theme was developed in a series of steps that started with the 1961 Falcon Futura.

Following a debut at the New York Auto Show a few weeks earlier, the Falcon Futura received its official dealer rollout on April 20, 1961. Ford was presenting the Futura as the “compact cousin to the Thunderbird” in the sales materials, but the real inspiration was easy enough to sort out. Here was Ford’s answer to the Corvair Monza, introduced as a mid-season model one year earlier. Adding a bucket seat interior and a bit of exterior bright trim to the standard Corvair, Chevrolet had produced a winner—and the product people in Dearborn, Lee Iacocca included, were quick to recognize it.

On the outside, there was little to distinguish the new model from a standard Falcon: just three chrome bullets on the rear quarter panels, Futura emblems on the front fenders, and full wheel covers borrowed from the accessory catalog. And that was it. The selling story was in the cabin, which sported thick bucket seats in front, matching upholstery in the rear, and a center console with a bright metal lid (non-locking) and trim.

There was one body style, the two-door post sedan, but the snazzy all-vinyl interior was offered in five colors: white, black, turquoise, blue, and red, which Ford called Thunderbird Red. A stand-alone model rather than an option package, the Futura was priced at $2,162 versus $1,914 for the standard Falcon two-door. In current dollars it doesn’t look like much, but that $248 represented a 13 percent markup—and a tidy profit margin, too, no doubt. The Peanuts comic strip characters of Charles Schulz promoted the Falcon line that year, with Lucy and Schroeder pitching the Futura.

Presented as a “luxury compact” with little if any sporting pretention, the Futura offered just one performance option: the Falcon Special Six with 170 cubic inches, 101 hp and 156 lb-ft of torque for $37.40. The standard 144 CID Falcon Six offered just 85 hp, while either could be combined with the standard three-speed manual gearbox with column shift, or the two-speed Fordomatic, also column shift, for $163.10.

In retrospect the Futura was a modest start, but it was a start—and sales were brisk. Despite the late introduction, more than 44,000 were sold the first year. For ’62 the Futura received additional upgrades, including an exclusive Thunderbird-inspired roofline and an optional Dagenham four-speed transmission imported from Ford UK. In ’63 came the Futura Sprint with V8 power, a pillarless hardtop, and a convertible. Step by step, Ford was advancing to the Mustang.