Is that a 2014-1/2 Mustang under the covers?

It’s a big year for Ford.  Make that the Ford Mustang. The original “pony car” recaptured the sales lead for the first half of 2013 after slipping behind the reborn Chevrolet Camaro for several years. Meanwhile, the Detroit maker has already begun ramping up a year of celebrations meant to mark the Golden anniversary of the Mustang which debuted in April 1964.

Back then, new vehicles appeared according to a rigid timetable and it wasn’t unusual for dealers to soap up their windows to keep customers waiting for that one day when they’d reveal the latest offerings each Autumn. The odd model that debuted mid-year would get a special designation.

In the case of the original Ford Mustang, it was labeled a 1964-1/2. And according to several reports and a few of TheDetroitBureau.com’s own sources, the eagerly awaited, next-generation Mustang will carry a 2014-1/2 designation.

Or, more precisely, a limited run of the new pony cars – known by the internal codename S550 – will carry the half-year designation, according to website Mustangs Daily.

It’s not the first time that rumor has surfaced.  Last November a Ford social media rep posted a blog entry declaring “The 2014-½ will be the 50th Anniversary edition,” adding, “It will be added to production for a limited run sometime during the year.”

The Ford blogger hurriedly retracted the post, insisting, “Okay, we made a mistake. We misunderstood the information and we’re sorry for causing all this confusion.”

Really?  More likely, the blogger simply let the story out a bit too early.

(Mustang back in the driver’s seat as sales squeal past Chevy Camaro’s. Click Here for the full story.)

Other details have been leaking out.  TheDetroitBureau.com previously reported that the official public unveiling of the new Mustang – which will otherwise be badged a 2015 – is being planned for the New York Auto Show next April, which would come almost to the day when on April 17, 1964, then-Ford President Lee Iacocca oversaw the muscle car’s launch at the New York World’s Fair.

The original coupe proved so popular Ford took a year of orders in barely the first three months.  Iacocca, meanwhile, landed the then-unprecedented honor of being featured on the covers of both Time and Newsweek magazines.

(Hertz, Penske Racing team up on special, high-performance Mustang. Click Here for a closer look.)

One unanswered question is whether Ford might stage some sort of event at the actual site of the original Mustang debut, the now derelict Flushing Fairgrounds in Queens, not far from the Mets’ CitiPark baseball stadium.

There are plenty of questions waiting for answers when it comes to the Mustang itself.  The new model is supposedly going to copy the independent rear axle found on the Camaro, abandoning the live axle design Ford has stuck with for a half century. The classic 5-liter V-8 is expected to return, but with as much as 450 horsepower.

Might the 2014-1/2 special edition feature something special besides the unusual model-year designation? After all, there are a bunch of special touches going into the new C7 Corvette’s Premiere Edition – including a special matching set of luggage.  But apparently nothing special is coming for Mustang, at least according to Autoblog.

By the way, the half-year designation faded away soon after Mustang appeared – in large part due to the expansion of government oversight of the U.S. auto industry. Makers had to meet full model-year targets for such things as safety, emissions and mileage, and the ½ designation only complicated matters. It became easier to simply decide whether to stick with the prior year or reach ahead. Under law, a vehicle launching as early as January 1, 2014 will be able to ascribed as a 2015 model.