The image above is not a photographic effect. It is not photos of two historically distance versions of the Ford Mustang spliced together to show how design and engineering patents evolved over the decades. It is, in fact, two versions of the Ford Mustang sliced together to show how design and engineering patents evolved over the decades.
The conjoined sisters came together at the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum in Alexandria, Virginia. To celebrate a new era for the museum, Ford pitched in on an effort to explore patents and innovation in Property Power – an exhibit on the evolution of patents.
The one of a kind creation built by Classic Design Concepts, joins a 1965 Mustang with a 2015 version, connected lengthwise — offering a startling vision of how innovation and invention shaped automotive design.
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The marriage of cars built 50 years apart ends just behind the front seat, so the Mustangs will never see a street again. But, the two cars are joined so precisely that their interiors are fully functional — though the 2015 version is a right hand drive model available overseas.
The Mustang demonstrates the power of patents and the evolution they provide because the original 1965 car held no original patent claims. It used pre-existing Ford intellectual property. However, when the Mustang sold 1 million in its first 18 months, Ford began filing style patents on their hit car.
Over the last 50 years, Ford filed 15 specific patents just for Mustang development — and the 2015 model carries their sum total. Visitors to the museum are allowed to sit in both sides of Mustang blend to get a feel for 50 years of automotive history.
