Over the last 50 years, the Ford Mustang has caught the attention of countless enthusiasts. In the auto world you don't make it to 50 years old without building a truly compelling product that speaks to both the hearts and minds of buyers and the Mustang is no exception. Just one show of proof: the many times the Pony Car has appeared on our cover within the last half-century. Now that we've seen and tested the 2015 Mustang, we thought we'd take a look at the 87 times the Ford Mustang has graced our cover.

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1964-1970

In the first five years of the Mustang's history, it appeared on our cover 10 different times. The Mustang's first cover appearance was rather innocuous, appearing as part of the 1965 New Car Buyer's Guide on our October 1964 cover. The Mustang would appear on the cover again a month later, and numerous times throughout the rest of the decade in a variety of comparison tests. It would take the Mustang until August 1968 to have the whole cover dedicated to it.

October 1964

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November 1964

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October 1966

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April 1967

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May 1967

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January 1968

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July 1968

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August 1968

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March 1969

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September 1970

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1971-1982

Given that the '70s were the malaise era, most of the Mustangs featured on our cover were pretty pitiful by today's standards. Notable covers of the era featured the 1976 Ford Mustang II Cobra in November of '75, and the first Fox Body Mustang in July of '78. Some other noteworthy covers include the McLaren-tuned Mustang in December of 1980, and the 5.0-liter V-8-powered (technically a 4.9-liter) Mustang GT, which rocketed from 0-60 mph in 6.9 seconds. They called it the malaise era for a reason.

March 1972

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July 1973

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October 1973

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November 1975

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July 1978

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January 1979

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December 1980

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September 1981

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May 1982

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1983-1992

Things got a bit better for the Ford Mustang during the first half of the Fox Body years. In July of 1983, the Mustang GT appeared on the cover with the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 and Dodge Daytona G24 Turbo. A few months later, the legendary Ford Mustang SVO also made an appearance, gracing the cover by itself in October of '83.

July 1983

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October 1983

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February 1984

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October 1986

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September 1988

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January 1991

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January 1992

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September 1992

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October 1992

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1993-1994

With the Fox Body Mustang going out of production and the SN95 Mustang going into production, the next two years of MT covers featured the Mustang every three months on average. We said good-bye to the Fox Body in February of '93 with the Mustang Cobra going head to head with the fourth-gen Camaro Z/28, and then took the Mustang Mach III Concept for a spin in April of the same year. In November of 1993 the new 1994 Ford Mustang was revealed, and given the whole cover to itself. The January of 1994 issue would see the 1994 Mustang crowned our Car of the Year.

February 1993

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April 1993

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June 1993

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November 1993

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November 1993

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January 1994

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February 1994

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August 1994

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October 1994

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1995-1998

The next three years were filled with SN95 glory. Some notable issues of the era featured the 305-hp 1996 Mustang Cobra, and the tests of a variety of custom-built Mustangs. The updated New Edge Ford Mustang would make its first appearance as part of the 1999-2000 New Car Buyer's Guide in October of 1998.

January 1995

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September 1995

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March 1996

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November 1996

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September 1997

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January 1998

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February 1998

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October 1998

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1999-2003

The next few years were filled with Cobras. In July of 2000 we had our first preview of what would be later known as the Terminator: the 380-hp supercharged 2003 Mustang SVT Cobra. The production Mustang Cobra would earn the cover in its own right in March of 2002. In the same era, we put the 2000 Ford Mustang Cobra R up against the Dodge Viper RT/10 and Chevrolet Corvette Z06, as well as previewed what'd become the S197 Mustang on our February 2003 cover.

May 1999

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September 1999

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October 1999

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July 2000

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August 2000

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March 2002

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February 2003

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October 2003

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2004-2006

Out with the New Edge and in with the retro-inspired 2005 Mustang. The new pony car graced our cover in February of 2004, and again in November of that year, when we had its exclusive First Test. The Shelby Mustang also returned during this period, gracing the cover more than three times. We also did our very own remake of Bullitt for the August 2005 issue, with a jumping 2006 Dodge Charger R/T and 2006 Ford Mustang Bullitt in San Francisco on the cover.

February 2004

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October 2004

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November 2004

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January 2005

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March 2005

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May 2005

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August 2005

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May 2006

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June 2006

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July 2006

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September 2006

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December 2006

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2007-2009

The Pony Car wars returned, with the Mustang being put up against the reborn Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger (as well as some import contenders like the Nissan 370Z) during this period. This era also marked the first time a Mustang would appear at Best Driver's Car on the cover of MT.

April 2007

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March 2007

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June 2007

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January 2008

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July 2008

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February 2009

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March 2009

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June 2009

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October 2009

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December 2009

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2010-2012

The Ford Mustang has graced our cover 14 times since 2010. June 2010 would feature the new 3.7-liter V-6-powered and Coyote 5.0-liter V-8-powered Mustang, while the very next issue would feature the 412-hp 2011 Mustang GT taking on the Camaro SS and Challenger SRT-8, and the 2011 Mustang V6 going up against the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Camaro RS, and Challenger SE. The Mustang GT would then famously take on the BMW M3 in October 2010, and the 2012 Shelby GT500 would take on its granddaddy, the 1969 Shelby GT500 in July of 2011.

March 2010

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June 2010

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July 2010

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August 2010

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October 2010

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April 2011

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May 2011

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July 2011

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October 2011

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November 2011

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July 2012

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August 2012

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October 2012

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November 2012

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2014

With the Ford Mustang redesigned for the 2015 model year, the car has already appeared on three covers in the 2014 calendar year. For February 2014, we introduced the Mustang with two covers and, of course, the headlines "America" and "Ford, Yeah!" By the May 2014 issue, we were already taking our best guess on what the 2016 Ford Mustang GT350 might look like, while on the cover of the September 2014 issue, the front of a red 2015 Ford Mustang peeks from the right side of our cover led by the Ultimate New Car Buyer's Guide and the 707-hp Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.

February 2014

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July 2014

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September 2014