Ford recently celebrated production of its nine millionth Mustang but the carmaker is in no rush to add to that tally with news it will only build 45,000 examples of its iconic muscle car for the 2009 model year. This figure may seem like a lot but in just the first five months of this year Ford has already sold 44,160 Mustangs and in the same period last year it sold 64,560 units.

The Mustang is Ford’s longest-running nameplate, having been introduced on April 17 at the 1964 New York World Fair, and today represents one out of every two sports cars sold in the U.S. Sales topped 419,000 units in its first 12 months on the market, and passed the one million mark in the first two years, shattering the sales records of any single model in history.

To celebrate its 45th anniversary, Ford will offer the 2009 Mustang with a special badge, an optional glass roof and slightly updated trim, reports AutoWeek.

Although the limited production may end up costing Ford sales, the carmaker is hoping to build anticipation ahead of the launch of a facelifted model due next year.