Ford Nascar Mustang Revealed, Ready for Cup Competition in 2019

[Fuse]

The teaser pic made it look like it'll be based on the standard 2018 front end not the gt350. I was expecting more but it is a lot better than what the current xfinity mustang looks like.

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[WildHorse]

Wow complaints complaints complaints. It has to meet NASCAR specs for aero & safety. Looks awesome to me. Bravo Ford!

 

[WildHorse]

Anyone have pictures of the rear end?

 

[jake_zx2]

The teaser pic made it look like it'll be based on the standard 2018 front end not the gt350. I was expecting more but it is a lot better than what the current xfinity mustang looks like.

The teaser pic actually looked really good, looked somewhat similar to the real car. What ford released is... *achem*... interesting. The way the headlights get thicker towards the grille, the way the car looks crosseyed from most angles, and the lack of detail on the DRLs leaves much to be desired.

That being said, it seems Ford is dropping hints about the GT500... look at the fangs, they don't follow the same angles nor are they in the same position on the lower fascia as the GT350. However, they are consistent with what we've seen of the GT500. Maybe Ford listened to us and decided to color match the grille divider portion of the bumper rather than making it black? That would be a treat

 

[wibled]

I wish showroom stock/bolt on modded was a class that was much more popular. I'm of the opinion that it would be TONS more fun watching cars on track driven by professional drivers using cars like many of us have on 6G.

Like this: https://sportscarchallenge.imsa.com/ ?

 

[Borchert97]

That car has 0 parts from Ford in it.

NASCAR is a spec-series, all the vehicles are the same. That isn't a Mustang, it's a NASCAR.

I'd bet 5$ the actual race car's front end doesn't look like anything you see in those pictures. It will be just like every other NASCAR, identical bodies with some paint that kinda makes it look like the car it's meant to be based on.

No offense but you seem to know little about NASCAR. So I'm new around here, been a big Ford fan all my life, don't own a Mustang QUITE yet but I will soon, and I'm also an avid NASCAR fan, and I know A LOT about the technical side of cars, so allow me to educate.

First of all, you're mostly correct in your first point, NASCAR is a spec series and the vehicles are, under the body, EXTREMELY similar, they all use the same rear end, tubular chassis, and 4-speed transmission.

I'll take your $5 though, because the racecar will look exactly as it is shown here, the bodies are all sculpted by the manufacturers and approved by NASCAR, if NASCAR denies a submitted body, usually due to safety or aerodynamic regulations, it'll go back to Ford/Toyota/Chevy or their performance divisions that do design the bodies, and be modified and resubmitted until it eventually passes, I could show you clearly right now with the three manufacturers that will race in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season and their cars, that the noses are all entirely different.

2018 NASCAR Toyota Camry Racecar (will run in 2019)

2016 NASCAR Ford Fusion Racecar (replaced with Mustang in 2019)

2018 NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 (will run in 2019)

2019 NASCAR Ford Mustang GT(350) Racecar (will debut in 2019)

The Mustang is a weird case of branding, it was unveiled alongside a GT350 street car, and it has the same front fascia design, hood design, and door design as a GT350, but it's badged as a GT, probably so as to only include Ford branding and not Shelby America branding of any kind, as Shelby America isn't a NASCAR manufacturer, even though Ford is, those two are technically two different entities, that's why I'm calling this racecar the NASCAR Ford Mustang GT(350).

I've tried to get essentially the same angle for all these pictures, so you can see the different details in the front end and the sides, all the bodies are made by the manufacturer themselves, the only pieces mandated by NASCAR that are spec across all manufacturers is the decklid and the greenhouse, which is basically the roof and the surrounding areas. Manufacturers get free reign to design the front end, the back bumper, the hood, and the side panels, as long as they sit within limitations set by NASCAR and are molded around the allowed chassis design.

On top of that, while this car might not share a part that Mustangs use, it shares plenty in common with older Fords, in NASCAR, Roush Yates Engines, an engine building division of Roush Performance, which is of course, in a very close partnership with Ford, builds the NASCAR engines for all the Ford teams, it's a 5.8L, 358ci engine that is loosely based on the old school 351W or 351C. Additionally, all manufacturers, even Toyota and Chevy, run a rear end loosely based on the Ford 9" rear end. So even though NASCAR is a silhoette racing series and a spec series, all the cars at the end of the day basically run a Ford rear end, the cars have just about more in common with Fords than Chevys or Toyotas.

So to call this "not a Ford" or "not a Mustang" is almost an insult to all the engineers, aerodynamicists, engine builders, and all the other hardworking guys that it took to make this car what it is. It is exactly what they say it is, a Ford Mustang racecar. At the end of the day, Ford gets to decide what this is, not us.

 

[Erik427]

Mustang nose and Fusion everything else.

 

[NoVaGT]

No offense but you seem to know little about NASCAR......I'm also an avid NASCAR fan..............So to call this "not a Ford" or "not a Mustang" is almost an insult to all the engineers, aerodynamicists, engine builders, and all the other hardworking guys that it took to make this car what it is. It is exactly what they say it is, a Ford Mustang racecar. At the end of the day, Ford gets to decide what this is, not us.

I know very little about NASCAR, that's true.

What you were trying to say is; "in recent years NASCAR is allowing the car builders to sculpt the front and rear of the cars to at least sort of look like the cars they're supposed to be built on........but aren't." That is obviously a change I wasn't aware of, since I don't watch NASCAR. How about you share with us when the rules were changed to allow the car builders to make the front and rear look more like the car they're not even remotely close to being built on?

Anyways....no, that is NOT a Mustang. It doesn't share one part with an actual Mustang. It is a race-car built by an engineering firm, with corporate sponsorship so it's body is dressed-up to look like something the sponsors sell.

 

[HISSMAN]

There is a reason why NASCAR is the only racing sport I just can't bring myself to watch.

 

[NoVaGT]

There is a reason why NASCAR is the only racing sport I just can't bring myself to watch.

My reason is the fake racing. I just can't stand it.

Danica Patrick was about to win......some race, many years ago. She was waaaaaay ahead (a lap or so) through good strategy or whatever. With 2 laps to go....BAM!!!!.....phantom yellow, for no reason. Absolutely NO reason.

They bunch the pack, she finishes something like 5th.

The racing is rigged, fake, false. Phantom yellows bunching the pack up for the last few laps all the time. Pathetic.

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

I know very little about NASCAR, that's true.

What you were trying to say is; "in recent years NASCAR is allowing the car builders to sculpt the front and rear of the cars to at least sort of look like the cars they're supposed to be built on........but aren't." That is obviously a change I wasn't aware of, since I don't watch NASCAR. How about you share with us when the rules were changed to allow the car builders to make the front and rear look more like the car they're not even remotely close to being built on?

Anyways....no, that is NOT a Mustang. It doesn't share one part with an actual Mustang. It is a race-car built by an engineering firm, with corporate sponsorship so it's body is dressed-up to look like something the sponsors sell.

Do you watch Aussie Supercars? Most people think they're production bodied racers, but they're not. They're spec chassis cars under a body shell that's made to look similar to the production Commodore/Falcon/Altima/E63. They run similar engines to what NASCAR uses, have SMGs, spool differentials, and share little to nothing in common with a production car.

The NASCAR 'template' cars came into being in like 2002, and have phased out in the last couple years. I think the Camry was the last car to use a 'template' body shell, and as you can see from above, that's been changed with the newest body shell design.

JR

 

[NoVaGT]

The NASCAR 'template' cars came into being in like 2002, and have phased out in the last couple years. I think the Camry was the last car to use a 'template' body shell, and as you can see from above, that's been changed with the newest body shell design.

JR

So NASCAR made some rule changes so the front and rear of the race cars would look a little bit like some sponsor's production cars.

Because NASCAR is dying. They had this huge hey-day in the early 2000s, and turned into the WWE of racing. Fake, fake, fake.

 

[whalesalad]

This thing honestly looks like it was designed by a junior college student who got their hands on a pirated copy of autocad. The previous generation fusion looks significantly better.

 

[Fuse]

After seeing more pictures, the hood looks great and the rear looks pretty decent. The front still looks weird because it still looks like a wannabe GT350. I understand that it is probably for aero but they should have just made it look like the GT instead of the GT350 with a GT badge.

Phantom yellows suck and some calls are questionable but if it was rigged, Jr. would have been champion a few times already. Unless that was the plan all along. And the camaro guys did it right but they suck hard this season at wins.

 

[w3rkn]

I want to.go fast....

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