In April of 1964, Ford began selling the Mustang to a fanatical public that quickly purchased more than a half-million Mustangs before the year was up. The success of the Mustang caught even Ford by surprise, and it has proven surprisingly resilient, outlasting all of its competitors to become the only American muscle car to continue production uninterrupted since its debut. No wonder Ford is making a big deal out of the 50th anniversary.

Over in Europe, the Blue Oval boys are getting particularly excited for the new Mustang, as Ford will (for the first time) sell the Mustang in the old world. Mustang is the most popular classic car in all of Europe, and modern Mustangs are a rare site, often drawing crowds. To work up Europe’s Ford fans, Ford of Europe released this video of the year-by-year evolution of the world’s favorite pony car.

It’s a great video even for Mustang enthusiasts who think they know it all, going all the way back to the very first Mustang I concept before shifting into the classic shapes we all know and love. The first generation Mustang experienced the most changes from year to year, with every single model morphing subtly or not-so-subtly from the model before it.

As the video goes on you can see how the Mustang grows and shrinks in spurts, with the current generation being among the largest and heaviest Mustangs ever. So with rumors suggesting that the 2015 Mustang will be both shorter and substantially lighter, this video is just one new Mustang short of being complete. December 5th can’t come soon enough.