Ford Benchmarked The Porsche 911 And BMW M3 For The 2015 Mustang

From Jalopnik:

Benchmarking European performance is fast becoming the new standard for American automakers, and it's no surprise Ford turned to some iconic automobiles in order to win over some new, discerning customers for the 2015 Mustang. Specifically, Americans love benchmarking Ze Germans.

We've speculated a lot about what independent rear suspension would do for the Mustang, but we won't know for sure until we drive one. The Mustang's chief engineer, Frank Davis, didn't say much about the switch from live axle to IRS when prodded by reporters, other than the decision was made when development began in 2009. But he did clue in some other details about handling and performance.

Rather than looking at the Camaro as always, Ford used the BMW M3 and Porsche 911 as the standard. Because the Mustang will be sold in Europe for the first time, engineers looked for "world-class" handling. In other words, they wanted to build an American car that Europeans would be used to.

The Mustang's front track increases 15 millimeters and 70 millimeters in the rear. It's 38 millimeters lower to the ground. Davis didn't say if the Mustang lost any weight, but some pounds were shed: It adds an aluminum hood, aluminum fenders and aluminum rear knuckles on the IRS. We couldn't squeeze out any other weight details.

The word "Camaro" was the least uttered word during the reveal, contrasted to how Chevy responds to Ford when the Mustang is brought up. Challenger wasn't even on the radar. The only way we'll know for sure if the Mustang can match the M3 is when we'll get behind the wheel.

I saw a snippet of that earlier. I think that bodes very well for the mustang performance. it should also end any doubt about its capabilities at the track. I also like that they seem to be less concerned about the camaro. They obviously need to make sure it doesn't fall behind, but it appears that the mustang is maturing beyond the camaro.

Well the 911 keeps being awarded best drivers car so it's a good one to benchmark. However, don't think for a second the 1LE & ZL1 Camaro along with the C7 Vette aren't part of testing.

Yea natural competitors versus guys they are trying to aspire to be.

I do like that they went from mostly benchmarking against american pony cars to something a little more world class and more emphasis on other aspects than just pure power.

Melino said:

Yea natural competitors versus guys they are trying to aspire to be.

I do like that they went from mostly benchmarking against american pony cars to something a little more world class and more emphasis on other aspects than just pure power.

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True, they already have the GT500 in house to test against and the Boss 302 for handling. I found it interesting that just switching to IRS didn't provide the handling gains they were expecting. Shows how well the old truck axle was dialed in.

likeaboss said:

True, they already have the GT500 in house to test against and the Boss 302 for handling. I found it interesting that just switching to IRS didn't provide the handling gains they were expecting. Shows how well the old truck axle was dialed in.

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I do agree the solid axle is dialed in really well. But I think the biggest reason is that engineers couldn't develop a IRS for the current chassis from scratch. They had to modify one from a falcon? i think it was. It was just completely compromised. But now we get one made specifically for the mustang

The word "Camaro" was the least uttered word during the reveal, contrasted to how Chevy responds to Ford when the Mustang is brought up. Challenger wasn't even on the radar.

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It's funny they bring this up. After the presentation, Pericak was speaking to us/others about the new Mustang's world class performance. When someone asked about comparisons to the Camaro he seemed taken aback, as if he had no prepared remarks. Shows where their head is at with the S550.

JarStang said:

It's funny they bring this up. After the presentation, Pericak was speaking to us/others about the new Mustang's world class performance. When someone asked about comparisons to the Camaro he seemed taken aback, as if he had no prepared remarks. Shows where their head is at with the S550.

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"Camaro? Whats that?"

stable68 said:

"Camaro? Whats that?"

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Haha, a great response I agree.

Will be interesting to see how chevy responds -- the new vette has a more modern/euro look, but the current Camaro is really boxy. I bet they'll have to go further from the current Camaro paradigm than Ford did (which is OK)!

Sounds like Ford knows what to compare against and whats important.

I found it remarkable that the Boss was being compared to the M3 in print--with the solid rear axle, no less. With the M3 as the actual handling benchmark, that speaks well to the new car's drivability. The Audi A4 was used to benchmark the current Focus, and I do have to say that the Focus, even in base form, does indeed, have the overall feel of the Audi.

I only hope that some of this rubs off on poor Lincoln.

I drive an M3 and I actually have a lot of interest in the new Mustang if that says anything. I'm not brand conscious at all, I just want a daily driver car that's going to perform and put a smile on my face while doing so. I was intrigued when they put the 5.0 in the current body style so I went for a test drive. While I thought the performance was there straight line, I didn't feel it quite matched up with my M3 in the steering dept or of course interior comforts. I'm hoping that the new IRS mixed with an LSD will get the mustang where it needs to be to compete with the other performance options on the market. While I don't expect the interior to be as nice, I'm hoping the performance is enough to sell me on the car so that I don't have to spend twice as much on an M3 again.

I hope that they had the F80/F82 in mind, which shed a ton of weight over the E90/E92.

You know what would be funny. They put the new Mustang on a road course and it doesn't outshine the old school live axle Mustang. lol I'd laugh my a** off about that.

Ha. That's unlikely as they already say the GT outperforms the current Boss.

m4a1mustang said:

Ha. That's unlikely as they already say the GT outperforms the current Boss.

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Probably true, but then car companies say a lot of things. I remember all the hype that Toyota whipped up about the FR-S and as far as I'm concerned it's an all around failure. Overpriced and underpowered with an interior by Fisher Price. Either way, its going to be interesting to see what the new Mustang does.