This 1969 Ford Mustang Is Actually a Toyota Prius Underneath
A triumph of the human spirit, or a hex upon the world?
There can almost be no introduction here. This is a 1969 Ford Mustang body dropped onto the stripped-out frame and running gear of a Prius. It's a project that I'm pretty sure gets mentioned in the Bible a few times, but now, it's here in the flesh for us all to enjoy.
The Prius 'Stang—I'm sure somebody else will come up with a much more clever name—is a project from the "Like photoshop, but with welding" Facebook group, and it was put together by a member named David Phinney.
The 1.8-liter, four-cylinder Prius engine that now pulls the Mustang body around makes 134 horsepower with help from its electric motor. Of course, since this isn't some complex swap of a Prius engine into a Mustang frame—just a body swap—all of the Prius's hybrid features should work fine. That's vital to the performance of this hybrid Mustang that beat Ford to the punch. Without that electric motor, the Prius would have just 90 hp, which is not enough.
Don't lecture me, a prophet of the Prius 'Stang, about how 134 hp is not enough. The base engine in the '69 Mustang was a 3.3-liter six-cylinder making just 120 hp, and even then, it's nearly 100 pounds heavier than the Prius. I bet the Prius 'Stang could take on some tired V8 Mustangs with about 2:1 compression with relative ease, all while getting a cool 50 miles per gallon.
This body swap also makes a surprising amount of sense. The Mustang's wheelbase is only 1.7 inches longer than that of the Prius, and there's plenty of room in the wheel wells to make up that difference. The Mustang is also just 3 inches wider than the Prius, making the wheel and fitment actually pretty good. Body-swapped cars often have a weird stance, but this one looks pretty clean. The wheels may look a bit out of place, but it's nothing too dissimilar from something you might find on a later model rental-spec V6 Mustang.
More than anything, though, I would be interested to see how this car drives. I will admit that I have never driven a Prius even hough I have been offered the opportunity. Since this is still very much a Prius, I'm guessing it wouldn't be very different at all. The interior is probably just a bit...draftier.
Got a tip? Send us a note: tips@thedrive.com
