2015 Mustang s550 FULL PROTOTYPE Spy Pics [6/10/13]

Metronome · Jun 13, 2013

K.Lysius said:
Yah at some point too many gears might make driving real annoying when the car is always changing gears. A combo of an efficient tranny + engine is gonna be the best solution, not just throwing more and more gears into the transmission.

Actually more gears should make for a smoother ride. That's why you see a lot of the luxury automakers like BMW, Lexus, Audi offering 8 speed trannies. Cadillac is also going to be offering GM's first 8 speed in the CTS and XTS sedans.

Ford is said to be leading the development of the 10 speed for RWD application which I think makes sense for a RWD luxury sports coupe from Lincoln if we see it at all in a performance vehicle. I think we'll see these first in the larger pickups and SUV's though.

Deroxas2.0 · Jun 13, 2013

A 10 speed auto better be highly intelligent to. Isn't that a lot of wrong gears to potentially be in when the car downshifts automatically? Some 6 speeds already don't downshift that well.

Vickstang · Jun 13, 2013

Could these exhaust tips which stick out a lot indicate that the actual rear bumper isn't yet attached on this prototype?

jjw · Jun 13, 2013

Those types of pipes have been common on detroit prototypes for years. I believe the sold purpose they serve is attaching wideband o2's and other testing gear... a standardized rolled lip design that will work with a standardized clamp.

KZStang · Jun 13, 2013

mykrrrr said:
After. That's all I will say.

That's a big factor in going to more gears. They're trying to keep the engine at the most efficient RPM for a given speed.

Yea, no kidding it's after.

Who is actually expecting April production with an April reveal?

With both Fusion and Mustang being built at FRAP, the former being launched later this year, Ford has changed the typical new model year production schedule for the Mustang and will launch later. My guess is fall '14. Isn't this what everyone was expecting? A longer 14 seems inevitable.

mrkrabz · Jun 13, 2013

Vickstang said:
Could these exhaust tips which stick out a lot indicate that the actual rear bumper isn't yet attached on this prototype?

Those are so they can attach equipment so they can measure emissions and other things. There just tubes that are attached to the end of the exhaust system.

KenneBellCoyote · Jun 13, 2013

KZStang said:
Yea, no kidding it's after.

Who is actually expecting April production with an April reveal?

With both Fusion and Mustang being built at FRAP, the former being launched later this year, Ford has changed the typical new model year production schedule for the Mustang and will launch later. My guess is fall '14. Isn't this what everyone was expecting? A longer 14 seems inevitable.

From what I read it's not an April reveal, it should be revealed sometime in 2013

KZStang · Jun 13, 2013

KenneBellCoyote said:
From what I read it's not an April reveal, it should be revealed sometime in 2013

Impossible. Among other reasons, they are not far along enough in the development process for that to happen.

chopsui · Jun 13, 2013

KZStang said:
Impossible. Among other reasons, they are not far along enough in the development process for that to happen.

Nonsense. If the marketing goons decided to, they could reveal it today. Since when does a car need to be production-ready for it to be shown? Car makers routinely reveal cars months, even years ahead of the actual production start. I don't know when Ford will decide to show us their cards but I don't see any reason why they couldn't decide to show something by the end of this year. If they don't, it will be because of a deliberate marketing plan, not because it's not developed enough.

Save for minor trim, the design of the car is set in stone. All that's left is engineering work.

Jarstang · Jun 13, 2013

chopsui said:
Nonsense. If the marketing goons decided to, they could reveal it today. Since when does a car need to be production-ready for it to be shown? Car makers routinely reveal cars months, even years ahead of the actual production start. I don't know when Ford will decide to show us their cards but I don't see any reason why they couldn't decide to show something by the end of this year. If they don't, it will be because of a deliberate marketing plan, not because it's not developed enough.

Save for minor trim, the design of the car is set in stone. All that's left is engineering work.

Yes they could do whatever they want, including releasing digital images of the final design as early as last year or the year before that. But, manufacturers have a typical process and timeline by which they reveal new cars, and judging by the stage at which the prototypes are at currently, I agree that a reveal in 2013 is unlikely. That and the fact that there's no big U.S. auto show for them to do it at until early next year.

chopsui · Jun 13, 2013

Well the LA Auto Show is pretty big and it's in November. Personally, I figure it will be at Detroit in January or NY in April. I'm just sayin' they have ample opportunity to show it before then.

I'm not sure we have much to go on regarding the "stage" at which the prototypes are at other than the fact that they exist and are being driven on public roads.

KZStang · Jun 13, 2013

chopsui said:
Nonsense. If the marketing goons decided to, they could reveal it today. Since when does a car need to be production-ready for it to be shown? Car makers routinely reveal cars months, even years ahead of the actual production start. I don't know when Ford will decide to show us their cards but I don't see any reason why they couldn't decide to show something by the end of this year. If they don't, it will be because of a deliberate marketing plan, not because it's not developed enough.

Save for minor trim, the design of the car is set in stone. All that's left is engineering work.

Correction: I should have said improbable, not impossible.

No doubt the design is set in stone, maybe even years ago. That's not the question. The question is when will they reveal it, and yes marketing does factor into that. But so does the prototype development which is usually a good indicator of how close or far off a reveal may be. So it's all guesswork, but given what we're seeing in the spy photos, the educated guess is that it's highly unlikely for end of this year.

And that's without factoring in the significance of April 2014.

chopsui · Jun 13, 2013

All I know is I'm saving my pennies.

Jarstang · Jun 13, 2013

chopsui said:
Well the LA Auto Show is pretty big and it's in November. Personally, I figure it will be at Detroit in January or NY in April. I'm just sayin' they have ample opportunity to show it before then.

Agreed with the Detroit or NY prediction. LA is a minor show compared to NY and especially Detroit. Would be a surprise if Ford decided to debut such a marquee car there.

Ricky35 · Jun 13, 2013

chopsui said:
All I know is I'm saving my pennies.

Me too! I'm actually hoping for a Spring reveal next year so I can save up even more pennies. If we saw the final car right now and I couldn't buy it for a year that would kill me inside lusting after the car for a whole year. :frusty:

2015 Mustang s550 FULL PROTOTYPE Spy Pics [6/10/13]

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