Lucas Bell 
When the Mach 1 moniker was originally given to the Mustang for the 1969 model year, it denoted a package that was focused on performance. No longer the secretary’s car, the Ford Mustang Mach 1 became an immediate classic and an all time muscle car great. The reborn model is a track-oriented 5.0L-powered car that promises to deliver on those same intentions. After building a car they felt was worthy of this badge, Ford had to go and design a modern version of the iconic logo. This is a backstory on how they went about doing that.
“When a nameplate like a Mach 1 comes back, you need to play up the heritage, but we didn’t
want this to be a retro badge,” said Dean Carbis, Ford’s chief designer in a press release. “We wanted it to be modern, while still calling back to the original. I think the team nailed it.”
Finding a way to incorporate retro and modern design is something that Ford has gotten good at over the years, especially when it comes to their halo cars. One look at the late S197 and even the S550 Mustang confirms their talent in this regard. The new Mach 1 logo is no different, as it does remain fairly true to the original badge. An updated version of the original and iconic sans-serif font was designed, bringing a more modern look than before. The letter styling is spot on for the 1969 model, though some of that funky 70’s flair is missing around the edges. The undersized “h” made its way to the new logo as well, one of the original’s most recognizable oddities.
Ford plans to show you this logo quite a bit if you drive a Mach 1. You’ll find it in places like the hood stripe, front fenders, on the rear appliqué, and its also on the strut tower brace. Sit inside and you’ll see it on the door sills, in digital instrument cluster, and center stack touch screen when the vehicle startups. The unique VIN number badging on the dash also features an etched version of the logo, just so don’t forget that you’ve bought a Ford Mustang Mach 1.
Ford taking such care to make a new Mach-1 logo is the kind of thing that we like to see, as the classic nameplate means a lot to many gear heads. If you’re going to pull from the archives, treat the source material with respect.
