2018 Mustang Refresh (Prototype) First Look!

[obgod3]

Avalanche Grey would be the ticket.

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[Spartan]

Exactly where I spent my money last month. I bought a '16 Challenger Scat Pack. 485 hp and 475 tq 6.4L Hemi and 8 speed auto. I still own my '14 Mustang GT, as well, and plan to keep it forever. Sure, the Challenger weighs 500 lbs more than my Mustang, but it still runs mid 12's in the 1/4 mile and has a top speed of 182 per Dodge. Plus, the biggest reason I bought it is that it's a big comfortable coupe with RWD and a V8.

I just haven't warmed up to the S550 front end design (although the interior and rear of the car look great). Maybe the '18 refresh or the S650 will win me over. Come on Ford; you lost me for several years. You want to earn my business again? Give the next Mustang a musclecar look! It should not look like a sports car!

Challenger is a nice car....can't wait to see what they do for their new model.

Confused on your statement...You like the interior and rear of the Mustang and don't like the front design (which I understand) but then you go on and say that the Mustang needs to look more musclecar like. So then do you not like the current look because the sides/rear definitely have a more sports/euro look to them right now. I 100% agree with you on the front part and can't wait to see what they changed.

 

[Bullitt]

Challenger is a nice car....can't wait to see what they do for their new model.

Confused on your statement...You like the interior and rear of the Mustang and don't like the front design (which I understand) but then you go on and say that the Mustang needs to look more musclecar like. So then do you not like the current look because the sides/rear definitely have a more sports/euro look to them right now. I 100% agree with you on the front part and can't wait to see what they changed.

I think he means he likes the back end because it has a more muscle car look now. It's nearly identical to a 1969 back end.

 

[SpeedLu]

I just haven't warmed up to the S550 front end design (although the interior and rear of the car look great). Maybe the '18 refresh or the S650 will win me over. Come on Ford; you lost me for several years. You want to earn my business again? Give the next Mustang a musclecar look! It should not look like a sports car!

Ford lost you as a customer with the S550 but gained me and several thousand more, so I think they'll be alright. ;) They can't please everybody, but they made the right design decision with the S550.

 

[Conedodger]

Since we are speculating i'm going to say
EB 350
GT 435
GT PP 475 with GT350 intake and 7,500 rev limit
GT500 more than 707

Also, I think the front grill is going to be larger and the bumper under the grill thinner.

 

[SpeedLu]

Since we are speculating i'm going to say
EB 350
GT 435
GT PP 475 with GT350 intake and 7,500 rev limit
GT500 more than 707

Also, I think the front grill is going to be larger and the bumper under the grill thinner.

The GT is already at 435. Was that a typo, or do you not think the GT will gain any hp?

 

[9secondko]

I test drove a Charger scat pack last week and all I gotta say is I was very impressed. Sounded good, rode good, shifted ridiculously fast. The dodge 392's are definitely my second choice if the refreshed mustang doesnt do it for me.

Yeah. They're ok.

I'd honestly rather have a Camaro ss over a charger any day.

But I'd rather a mustang over a Camaro.

Hope to see a major power bump and tighter suspension to make use of the superior footprint.

I love that the Mustang is "kicking teeth in" where sales are concerned (Autoblog), but performance is what matters to me in addition to the look. It just seems like Ford held back while chevy was giving it everything they had. Hopefully round 2 sees Ford warmed up and putting on a real show for 2018.

 

[1320']

Since we are speculating i'm going to say
EB 350
GT 435
GT PP 475 with GT350 intake and 7,500 rev limit
GT500 more than 707

Also, I think the front grill is going to be larger and the bumper under the grill thinner.

Nice speculation, but the GT isn't going to be getting the GT350 intake. The GT350 intake isn't good for midrange power, and only really shines past 5,500 or so, so it's not ideal for a average street car. The PP won't get more power, since it would require a whole new SAE certification process and engine warranty process for an option package.

Any PP will have the same power as the base GT. It might have different exhaust that could maybe add 3-4 HP, but that would be within the % range for SAE certification.

 

[crs2879]

Oh man, I'm excited to see what the changes will be.

Are those new wheels too? Reminds me of the EB PP wheels but the spokes aren't as rounded.

Those look like the non-track package GT500 wheels.

 

[Ground Speed]

Ford lost you as a customer with the S550 but gained me and several thousand more, so I think they'll be alright. ;) They can't please everybody, but they made the right design decision with the S550.

Same here. The S550 as it currently sits is the best looking Mustang ever in my opinion, and that's counting the 60s golden age cars. I think the long high hoodline and flared fenders/fast back design harken back to the musclecar days, while the front end (which to me is the best part of the car's aesthetic) does say "I'm a Mustang, but a sporty one."

Muscle cars (or pony cars) don't need need to be boxy to be cool, at least not for me.

As for the 18 refresh, I'll be interested to see what they do, but for me it's mostly academic since I already have a 16 and plan to stick with it.

:cheers:

 

[williamwally]

Didn't the S197 glass roof add something like 100lbs? it probably raised the CG by quite a bit too. :tsk:

It actually only added about 28lbs total, no extra reinforcement etc, just replaced the top panel with a glass one and a sunshade.

But its about the worse place to add weight outside of unsprung weight.

Now if they make it like the lincoln retractable your talking 200+lbs with tracks/motors etc.

The main question is if they can produce a glass section with the 'humps' at a reasonable price; my guess is probably not.

 

[Grimace427]

The main question is if they can produce a glass section with the 'humps' at a reasonable price; my guess is probably not.

If Ford could develop a scratch-resistant Plexiglas-type material perhaps they could make more complex shapes than what would be feasible with glass.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

Although, if I remember correctly, didn't the glass roof option always become available with the mid-cycle refresh? It wasn't always available on S197.

Glass Roof option came out in 2009 as a $1995 option. My '14 Glass Roof GT is one of less than 2,000 built that model year. Not a common option, but a very cool one that was a must-have when I bought my'14.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

It also adds weight (weight is bad mkay) and it adds it in the wrong place (high above the center of gravity).

Correct, adds 28 lbs over the steel roof, which is bad for at-the-limit handling, but it sure hasn't slowed me down at the dragstrip. Incidentally, the glass roof has the same torsional rigidity as the steel roof per Ford.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

Challenger is a nice car....can't wait to see what they do for their new model.

Confused on your statement...You like the interior and rear of the Mustang and don't like the front design (which I understand) but then you go on and say that the Mustang needs to look more musclecar like. So then do you not like the current look because the sides/rear definitely have a more sports/euro look to them right now. I 100% agree with you on the front part and can't wait to see what they changed.

The S550 interior is very nice. Better than my '14 GT and my '16 Scat Pack.

The rear end and rear 3/4 angle look a lot like the '69 Mustang, IMO, and the '69 Mustang has long been my Holy Grail of Mustang design. Very muscular looking. Just wish the S550 had more rake (rear end up a bit higher instead of sitting so low).

The front end of the S550 is just horrible, IMO. Hood looks bad, front grille looks similar to my wife's '14 Fusion, but worse as it does not flow well with the fog/marker light areas.

The S550 is a world car - I understand that - but I want tribar emblems (red, white, and blue with the running horse) to remind people that this car is American! Seems like Ford pulled the red, white, and blue off the S550's to be politically correct when selling it in other markets. The irony is that most other markets that desperately waited for Mustang to be sold outside the USA appreciate that it's an American icon so why take the tribar emblems off, Ford!?!?!?

Ford did a great job adding IRS, refining the ride, and making the car appealing to a broader audience and that has netted Ford much better sales. However, in the process they forgot about us blue collar, musclecar buying, drag racer types who have owned many Mustangs over the years.

Where is a street legal Mustang model for the dragstrip that doesn't require replacing half-shafts just to survive launching on sticky tires? Mach 1, anyone? Cobra Jet for the street, perhaps? I love the solid axle in my '14 GT as it is super robust. 100% stock suspension and I've made about 300 passes down our local tracks on drag radials. Some of those passes result in the front left tire lifting off the ground on launch, and once in a great while both front tires get air under them. That's some hard launching and so far I haven't broken a single part.

And, yes, my '16 Challenger has IRS, but it's very robust, no issues from drag racing them that I'm aware, and I bought this car to be a daily driver (my '14 GT is the race car now after spending the last 3 years as daily driver and weekend warrior at the track).

I guess what I'm asking Ford for, is a tough/muscular looking Mustang that is designed to withstand the rigors of repeated drag racing on sticky tires. Fix the front end styling (I refused to buy 1994-1998 Mustangs for this reason, as well as 2015-2017 Mustangs) and make sure to keep an affordable V8 model that can rip low to mid 12 second 1/4 miles. I don't care how much hp/tq it's rated for or how much it weighs, just get it into the low to mid 12's and keep it affordable.

Ford Motor Company employees are certainly reading these forums, so I hope they can accommodate my wishes and sell me another new Mustang in the near future.

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