Is the s550 platform considered a muscle car or sportcar??

[NoVaGT]

Used to be a Pony car. Now I'd call it a Ground Touring Sports Coupe.

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[OldPhart]

Whats better than a 2 car garage ?

A 3 car garage


When I built my 2 car garage 15 years ago I thought that would be it but now I want a 3-4 car garage. 4 would be better. you never know what you'll add to the stable

Hi - We all have to have a place to store our “things”. Women have purses and men have garages... Bruce

 

[VenomousSVT]

its not big enough to be a muscle car by definition.. yes it has the ass to back it up, but the platform is very sports car biased. The waters are so muddied about what is what these days.... I consider it a pony car still and a better can that ford ever thought the car could be. To think you'd have the sports car performance out of a beat up old mustang is great.

then you have my car, its a muscle car by definition, but a boat in most other descriptions..LOLOLOL but being a widebody it handles great for what it is, rides awesome, and was exactly what i wanted this time around. I MAY own another mustang eventually, but its never been the same for me after I sold my cobra.

 

[Bikeman315]

its not big enough to be a muscle car by definition.. yes it has the ass to back it up, but the platform is very sports car biased. The waters are so muddied about what is what these days.... I consider it a pony car still and a better can that ford ever thought the car could be. To think you'd have the sports car performance out of a beat up old mustang is great.

then you have my car, its a muscle car by definition, but a boat in most other descriptions..LOLOLOL but being a widebody it handles great for what it is, rides awesome, and was exactly what i wanted this time around. I MAY own another mustang eventually, but its never been the same for me after I sold my cobra.

It's really not confusing if you go by the original definitions.

Muscle cars were one with full size engines thrown into midsize bodies. Think GTO, 442, Chevelle SS, Fairlane GT, etc. Sports cars are either 2 or 2+2 seating, small, lightweight. handling is the prerequisite, power was #2. Think Triumph, MG, Miata, S2000, Lotus, Corvette, etc. When most people think of Pony cars the Mustang is the first to come to mind even though is wasn't. But it did jumpstart the category. The Camaro quickly followed by the Barracuda, Challenger, Cougar, & Javelin.

Now of course today things get a little mixed up due to our cars doing so much more than they used too. Our Mustangs are a little bit of everything including Grand Touring. This said the conversation will go on forever. I hope!

 

[f700es]

Sports coupe ;) or a Grand Touring car as bikeman315 says

 

[Bluemustang]

This is a question that has no answer. It is whatever you want to call it. Most cars today that most people "consider" to be sports cars are not by the earliest definitions. This definition has evolved over time to include lots of cars.

You could get away with sports car, muscle car, pony car, grand touring car, whatever. By today's standards of what I think is considered by most, I'd say it falls into any of the above categories. Which is why I think it's stupid because people have evolved the terms into their own definitions over the years, which muddies the waters on everything.

 

[Bear376]

Classification of car types always fluctuates and the lines get blurred over the decades. The Mustang started as a sporty coupe. It’s popularity spun a new term: Pony Car. And don’t trust manufacturers to accurately describe a car type. Pony cars are not a legal term, and the manufacturers will define cars by what they can benefit most by. For example, my wife’s Flex is simply a station wagon. Legally, it is called a crossover for EPA purposes. Most SUVs started as ways to bypass EPA limits and provide vehicles that can haul without the restrictions of pickups.

 

[martinjlm]

So me and a friend of mine was having a debate about the s550 platform, whether it’s a considered a muscle car or a sport car. I would love to hear you guys take on this

Yes.

It is considered a muscle car or a sports car. It actually sits in what I would consider to be an overlap and what you would call any particular Mustang can depend on how it is equipped.

A basic EcoBoost Mustang is probably best considered a “sporty car” and also a “pony car”.

A 5.0L Mustang GT is a “pony car” and also probably starts to get into the newer definition of a “muscle car”. But if you go back to the 1960s era description of a muscle car, a lot of them had 4 doors and a lot of them had vinyl roofs, two things you won’t see on a modern Mustang.

A Shelby GT350 and especially GT350R are straight up sports cars. You can probably still call them pony cars, bu they are definitely sports cars. All of these come off of S550.

If you go by “industry standards” such as Wards Automotive Vehicle Segmentation, or my personal favorite IHS Markit Vehicle Segmentation Mustang is categorized as either Sporty Car or Entry Sport (Corvette would be considered Premium Sport). Under each of those classifications there are a number of different sub-categories. Sorta like all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares.

 

[Bikeman315]

Yes.

It is considered a muscle car or a sports car. It actually sits in what I would consider to be an overlap and what you would call any particular Mustang can depend on how it is equipped.

A basic EcoBoost Mustang is probably best considered a “sporty car” and also a “pony car”.

A 5.0L Mustang GT is a “pony car” and also probably starts to get into the newer definition of a “muscle car”. But if you go back to the 1960s era description of a muscle car, a lot of them had 4 doors and a lot of them had vinyl roofs, two things you won’t see on a modern Mustang.

A Shelby GT350 and especially GT350R are straight up sports cars. You can probably still call them pony cars, bu they are definitely sports cars. All of these come off of S550.

If you go by “industry standards” such as Wards Automotive Vehicle Segmentation, or my personal favorite IHS Markit Vehicle Segmentation Mustang is categorized as either Sporty Car or Entry Sport (Corvette would be considered Premium Sport). Under each of those classifications there are a number of different sub-categories. Sorta like all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares.

Well no four doors but........How soon we forget

 

[martinjlm]

Well no four doors but........How soon we forget

That’s why I said modern Mustang.

 

[Balr14]

Maybe it's just because I'm old, but "sports car" always meant small, light roadster to me, something highly agile in tight spaces. I've owned an old MG, an S2000, Viper, several Vettes and a Porsche 911, all roadsters... those were sports cars. There's nothing small or light about any Mustang. I like my GT, but it's bigger than my wife's SUV.

 

[Bikeman315]

That’s why I said modern Mustang.

Fine, pick on an old man with poor eyesight

 

[Laserbrain]

It's a chick car.

https://thenewswheel.com/ford-mustang-voted-womens-performance-car-of-the-year-2016/

 

[OldPhart]

Hi - Terminology evolves. Are today’s versions of a lady and gentleman the same as in Victorian times? Be happy and choose whatever terminology you want, just like the teachers tell their students today “You can be anything you want to be”... Bruce

P.S. I’ll stick with my previously posted description.

 

[Balr14]

I think it's kind of sad that the sports cars that used to weigh 3000 - 3200 lbs are now pushing 4000 lbs and some well beyond that. I've been thinking I might try a Vanderhall Venus or an XK120 kit car: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1951-Jagua...991700?hash=item365c502ad4:g:b7UAAOSwR1FeLgSf

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