2018 Mustang Refresh (Prototype) First Look!

[MikeyV]

hunf! I love the front, but not so much the back.

Guess I'm weird.

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[1320']

I disagree. First it has been shown that the GT350 intake actually adds 5 ft lbs of torque over the stock manifold.

Second, the GT350 intake is already being offered as a smog legal power pack on the current mustang by Ford so they already have the certification to run the 350 manifold on the 5.0

Third, PP means performance package so the bump in HP would actually help justify the added cost of the package.

So really quick...

Where has it been shown that the GT350 intake doesn't lose power anywhere? Every review or dyno chart I've seen shows that the manifold results in a 20hp/20tq power loss in mid-range, but gains the power back over 6,500...

 

[Dary]

There is an alpha numeric number on the rectangle to the right side of the blocked driver side taillight assembly. In the pics showing the rear dead on, it appears the number has been photoshopped out. However on the pic below showing the car from this angle, you can sort of make out the number that has not been edited (yet).

Can anyone do some more magnifying on it?

Starts with ZG. Can't make out the rest.

 

[HISSMAN]

ZG83000

 

[wildcatgoal]

For engine, I bet they add direct injection/compression and associated tuning getting it to about 450-460 BHP and an associated torque increase. If I were them, I'd target somehow getting more torque and worry less about HP - no idea how that would be done. I really don't think people are wanting more HP and instead more torques 4K and below.

 

[Spartan]

Seeing your prior owned cars I'd expect someone like you to understand what a "company wide design language" is. Considering you had a fox body which looked like an escort, and a thunderbird that looked like a taurus.


It sounds to me like you're more pissed that Ford ditched the retro look, which is why you bought a Challenger. Congrats on your new 2008 MY car with recycled suspension from early 2000's Mercedes Benz's? :shrug:

We all know what design language is...Audi basically coined it and has it in spades.

I can't speak for Brian but I don't want my sports car to look like the family sedan from any angle.

They can still use the Ford design language and share shapes/looks but the current front looks like they rolled over to the Fusion guys and borrowed a fascia and just stuck it on the Mustang. It's got about 90%+ of the exact same features. And that mags, reviews, articles, etc point this out a lot is probably why they are changing it.

I'm fine with it having a Ford look, just not the EXACT look of the Fusion fascia it currently has.

 

[thePill]

We all know what design language is...Audi basically coined it and has it in spades.

I can't speak for Brian but I don't want my sports car to look like the family sedan from any angle.

They can still use the Ford design language and share shapes/looks but the current front looks like they rolled over to the Fusion guys and borrowed a fascia and just stuck it on the Mustang. It's got about 90%+ of the exact same features. And that mags, reviews, articles, etc point this out a lot is probably why they are changing it.

Kia does a nice job of using their language (the grill 'tiger nose' they coined) but doing some different things while you still know its a KIA.

I'm fine with it having a Ford look, just not the exact look of the Fusion fascia it currently has.

If the Mustang looked like a Fusion, I could see you had a point.

If you see a Fusion in a Mustang and think the design started there first, you are mistaken. The entire lineup was designed FROM the S550's DNA, regardless of what order it was released. The Fusion is a soft translation if at all.


How about sharing a Full Size platform with a Family Sedan? What about sharing drivetrains, brakes, wheels? The Challenger IS a sedan and yes, there are such things as 2-door sedans.

Are you willing to pay more for less like the Camaro? Very little of the 6th Gen is an original design. Styling came from the 5th, platform came from a small family sedan and the drivetrain came from a C7. Yet you pay more and the Camaro IS using the Chevy DNA. It came years afterwards and they followed the Mustang.

A Full Size wheelbase is embarrassing and using output to mask its engineering shortfalls is typical GM. A vast majority of the customers are not leaning towards the Camaro and the Challenger has been a slow seller for almost a decade.

That is why the Mustang is cleaning house. It's no secret there was a refresh coming in 2018. thePill beat that drum for years... The Mustang is evolving into a Sports Car...

 

[1320']

Why does LA get the reveals? Hopefully they have it at the SF auto show too.

The big shows get more attention. More attention=More reason to show off there.

SEMA
LA
Detroit
Chicago
NY...

In that order..Detroit is the big show.

 

[Spartan]

The big shows get more attention. More attention=More reason to show off there.

SEMA
LA
Detroit
Chicago
NY...

In that order..Detroit is the big show.

Didn't we think that Det/Chi would be the GT500 and the other would be the Ranger leaving LA or NY as the refresh possibilities?

 

[JWS]

HOLY GRAIL

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.

I agree that this is the best rear end and one of the two iconic rear ends of all Mustangs. The other being the original Sequential Turn Signal Shelbys of '67 and later.

I also agree on the front end. It looks from many angles as if it is chopped by a giant guillotine. I think the new 350 solved many problems, besides visibility. All the lines of the 350 have a purpose, as though the 350 was designed first and the GT was an after thought that had to have some alterations to make it different from the 350 and it lost a lot in the surgery.

By-the-way, you mentioned the Grande' from '69 and that is where my fender badge came from (although a reproduction).

 

[speedfrk]

You are absolutely 100% correct. Ford won over and conquested a lot of new customers at the expense of long-time loyal customers. Ford is making more money, so kudos to them.

I'm seeing more and more ex-Mustang owners showing up on the Dodge Challenger forums lately (including me). If you look at the monthly sales thread that compares Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger sales, please note the long term trend line that shows that Challenger has been steadily & consistently increasing its sales average since its modern introduction. Mustang slipped for a bit as the S197 aged, but the S550 is resurging. And Camaro is flailing. That Challenger is consistently gaining ground on such an old platform speaks volumes about the big muscular V8 coupe niche that everyone is ignoring except Dodge (and some of the Germans, but at a much higher price point).

However, there is no reason that Ford couldn't offer a Mustang trim or specialty model that appeals to its new worldly clients and the hardcore faithful. Consider that once upon a time, the Mustang could be spec'd to appeal to most anyone. For example, in 1969 you could opt for a simple 6 cylinder coupe that was sporty looking, but economical. Love that V8 burble, but still on a budget? Get the 302 or Windsor 351 V8's. Or, get an aspiring luxury Mustang Grande with engines ranging from small 6 cylinders to big block V8's. Convertible? Plenty to choose from in 1969 with many engines to choose from. Road racer? Get the Boss 302 with its high-winding engine. NASCAR? How about the mega-motor Boss 429! Want a drag racer? The 428 Cobra Jet and/or Mach 1 models had you covered in 1969. And, the options list was very long so you could personalize your Mustang infinitely more than Ford's current strategy of packaging options together.

"That Challenger is consistently gaining ground on such an old platform speaks volumes about the big muscular V8 coupe niche that everyone is ignoring except Dodge "...

I suspect that the vast majority of Challengers being sold are SXT V-6's. That's about all I see on the dealer lots and all I see on the roads. I bet 10-1 V-6 to V-8. I think Mustangs sell a higher percentage of V-8's.

 

[Bob99b5]

I wonder if the reason the rear glass is camoed could be they're adding a panoramic sliding glass roof similar to the one on the Lincoln MKZ?

That would be really so completely cool, and it's not something I'd ever thougt of. I'm keeping my '07 vert and this would be the PERFECT 9 month compliment to a convertible in the northeast!

 

[AxelFoley]

The Camaro SS is also quite a bit pricier than the Mustang GT.

I don't know if it would be FPC or CPC. He only said the 5.2 would live on, he made no guarantees about whether it would be in a GT350 or another model.



I dunno, the Mustang has had the lowest hp of the three ever since the 2016 Camaro debuted. Hasn't hurt Ford's marketshare one bit. The Camaro's poor sales show clearly that the masses don't care about who has the most horsepower. Those wanting the most power go and buy the Challenger that's nearly 7 years old and those that want affordability, different looks and/or a more well-rounded package buy the Mustang.

 

[Spartan]

I also agree on the front end. It looks from many angles as if it is chopped by a giant guillotine. I think the new 350 solved many problems, besides visibility. All the lines of the 350 have a purpose, as though the 350 was designed first and the GT was an after thought that had to have some alterations to make it different from the 350 and it lost a lot in the surgery.

Yep...the lines just all flow on the GT350 and yes it fees like they didn't have enough time to finish the GT and then when they worked on the GT350 they worked out the rest of the design of the front. Excited for the reveal coming.

 

[BGM]

Any chance Sync 3 becomes standard in 2018? That's the only part of the premium package I'd want.

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