Here’s a rare look inside the Ford styling studios in the early ’60s with an original company film called Styling and the Experimental Car.    

The styling studios of the global automakers are among the most secretive and secure places on earth—-except for those occasional moments when, for reasons of their own, they decide to allow us a brief glimpse inside. One such moment at the Ford Motor Company arrived in 1964, when the Dearborn carmaker produced this film, Styling and the Experimental Car. 

The early ’60s, we have to believe, were an exciting time at the Ford design studios, tucked away behind the black iron gates on Oakwood Avenue. Gene Bordinat, who in 1961 succeeded George Walker as vice-president of design, headed a talented team of stylists that included Joe Oros, L. David Ash, John Najjar, and others. And the advanced projects under way at the time included the Ford Allegro, the Shelby Cobra-based Cougar II, and the Aurora, a futuristic station wagon concept (read our feature on the Aurora here).  Naturally, they are all featured here.

For the purposes of this film, the culmination of all the effort was the fabulous Ford Mustang, introduced in April of 1964 at the New York World’s Fair. And of course, it’s fair to say the Mustang was easily one of the most important and memorable designs ever created in the Ford styling studios. Here’s some of the story behind it.