S650 2023 Mustang Chief Engineer / Program Director is Michael Celetino

[BlownGP]

If S650 is heavily based on S550, and still features a n/a V8 engine (I'm pretty sure the hybrid will only be an option in the US and the V8 will still be available) and I'm confident it's going to be a better car than the S550. Looks will be subjective, but as a driving machine, it will be an improvement over the current car, just as S550 was over the S197.

Think it will be lighter?

By all means, it probably will be improvement. Lets hope so. lol
But for me it might not be enough to get one.

That's why I got a S550 over a 13-14 GT. The S550 is improved from the inside out over the 13-14 GT.

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[bahasad]

I interacted with him in the past on the D544 program. He has a GT350R. He isn't the worst person to choose for this.

 

[Twin Turbo]

I doubt it will be lighter........not unless they incorporate more aluminum in the construction. It could certainly afford to lose a few pounds, but without an all new platform (which sounds like we'll have to wait for '27/'28 and S750) I can't see it happening.

 

[jrsimon27]

New mustang needs to move to awd or rwd with engine in the middle as the new c8.
Competition is getting tough.

 

[Twin Turbo]

New mustang needs to move to awd or rwd with engine in the middle as the new c8.
Competition is getting tough.

The C8 is not direct competition to the Mustang. It's not a pony car. If Ford moved to a mid-engine layout, sales would fall off a cliff. The reason the Mustang is the best selling "sports car" in the world is because it delivers a fantastic package. Great looks, great performance and usable interior and trunk space. Ford will stick to that winning formula.

 

[9secondko]

S650 is not the platform of the car.
The program name (S650) would not change and it's not there to smooth over anything.
It sounds like the decision was made to continue to use the same or slightly altered current platform instead of moving to the originally intended one for that program.

Keep in mind the D2C (platform) derived from a cheaper version of Dew98, a Lincoln sedan platform.
So Mustang got its own cheaper platform that was made from a 'better' more expensive platform which eventually became the cars we are seeing today. Let that sink in for a minute or 2.

Just because the platform is made is being utilized for a specific type of vehicle now, doesn't mean it won't be better than the outgoing platform.

If it wasn't better and didn't have performance benefits for what it costs to implement, they wouldn't be doing it.
They'd be sticking with the currently used platform for the foreseeable future projects and continuing to add things to it without throwing more money into it, as its probably paid itself off at this point.

Let’s boil it down:

was: smaller, lighter, faster

now: shared SUV platform

not better.

and that’s a shame.

we’ve been through bad Mustang decisions before. We will make it through this too.
But let’s not bury our heads in the sand or play make believe about how great this is.

 

[Twin Turbo]

Let’s boil it down:

was: smaller, lighter, faster

now: shared SUV platform

not better.

and that’s a shame.

we’ve been through bad Mustang decisions before. We will make it through this too.
But let’s not bury our heads in the sand or play make believe about how great this is.

Well, if reports are true, S650 won't be an "SUV" platform as S650 will be heavily based on the existing S550 platform. S750 will, allegedly, utilize the CD6 platform around '27/'28. True, that currently underpins the Lincoln Aviator and Ford Explorer, but it was an architecture designed to be flexible in terms of vehicle length, width and even in terms of RWD/AWD.

In 6 generations of Mustang, none of them has had a truly bespoke platform, and neither S650 nor S750 will be any different.

What's important is that Team Mustang makes the best of what they're given and that's in the hands of the engineers and designers.

 

[Ace]

The C8 is not direct competition to the Mustang. It's not a pony car. If Ford moved to a mid-engine layout, sales would fall off a cliff. The reason the Mustang is the best selling "sports car" in the world is because it delivers a fantastic package. Great looks, great performance and usable interior and trunk space. Ford will stick to that winning formula.

Of course a regular Mustang is not in competition to a C8. But if you go into a Mach 1, PP2 and the Shelbys you will clearly in a price range where a C8 may be an option. Besides just having 2 seats the cargo space in the c8 is as good as in the Mustang (C8 12.6 vs Mustang Conv 11.4 and Fastback 13.5). I am sure the C8 is pretty much the reason why the Camaro6 Z/28 was cancelled early on.
I am looking forward to the 7th Gen Mustangs, but when it comes to the higher performance models they have to compete with the C8. And with enough independent videos comparing C8 Z51 to GT500 with the result that the real world performance is pretty much identical besides on a veeeeery long straight I actually see Chevy have a game changer for the market here.

 

[Nexus]

Let’s boil it down:
was: smaller, lighter, faster
now: shared SUV platform
not better.
and that’s a shame.
.

Guess we should have stayed with the Fox platform since it was smaller and lighter right?

CD6 is a flexible platform that was designed for scale for both mid/full sized cars and SUVs, so lets not blow a gasket on it and pretend its something its not.

 

[9secondko]

Guess we should have stayed with the Fox platform since it was smaller and lighter right?

CD6 is a flexible platform that was designed for scale for both mid/full sized cars and SUVs, so lets not blow a gasket on it and pretend its something its not.

‘guess some people need to brush up on modern performance instead trying to put foolish words in other people’s mouths - whether the moderator “ likes“ it or not.

Anyone whose read any of my posts knows that I’m all about moving forward.

a flexible platform... isn’t a focused platform - when it serves cars AND SUVs.

look at the alpha. It’s not an F body. It’s a small car platform that allowed the humble Camaro to reach great performance. And in the case of the Camaro itself, they went the extra mile ensuring it was as honed as can be.

Ford couldn’t even be trusted to cut the fat from the S550, which missed initial weight targets by miles.

you can trust the new team, that calls SUVs “Mustangs” now, To optimize the platform for the only car they’ll produce anymore. But history shows otherwise.

another broken promise. “the Mustang is such an important car that we will give it its own platform...” guess that goes out the window with the retail CEO putting his stamp on things. You can cheer For that if you want and pretend the people looking at this with their eyes open are somehow wrong, but all I’ll say is “ enjoy the kool-aid. It was your choice to drink it. I hear it’s good for the gasket...

hopefully this is just a “Mustang 2 season” That passes in (a long) time.

 

[Twin Turbo]

a flexible platform... isn’t a focused platform - when it serves cars AND SUVs.

I absolutely agree with you there. It would be fantastic to have a bespoke platform for Mustang. But, as I said earlier, in 6 generations, Mustang has never had a truly bespoke platform. Mega-$$ sports and supercars aside, there are very few sporty cars that have unique platforms these days. Or, if they're unique sports car platforms, their shared with other marques (Supra/Z3 or BRZ/GT86 for example).

I'll look on the bright side. The Cool Aid tastes great

 

[Bikeman315]

I absolutely agree with you there. It would be fantastic to have a bespoke platform for Mustang. But, as I said earlier, in 6 generations, Mustang has never had a truly bespoke platform. Mega-$$ sports and supercars aside, there are very few sporty cars that have unique platforms these days. Or, if they're unique sports car platforms, their shared with other marques (Supra/Z3 or BRZ/GT86 for example).

I'll look on the bright side. The Cool Aid tastes great

+1 If it comes down to a choice between a platform shared with SUV’s or not having our Mustang at all.........

 

[Nexus]

I absolutely agree with you there. It would be fantastic to have a bespoke platform for Mustang. But, as I said earlier, in 6 generations, Mustang has never had a truly bespoke platform. Mega-$$ sports and supercars aside, there are very few sporty cars that have unique platforms these days. Or, if they're unique sports car platforms, their shared with other marques (Supra/Z3 or BRZ/GT86 for example).
I'll look on the bright side. The Cool Aid tastes great

It's not Kool-Aid, it's called understanding and being realistic.
Having a single purpose platform for a mass production car trying to hit a dollar target,range of customers, performance goals, and ever moving government safety standards is not economically feasible in any way.
This car has to hit from a lower entry point to its high end performance point and everything in between. That's why it's still around today.

Can Ford eff up the outcome royally? Possibly. I'll wait to see results first.

 

[spectremotorsports]

Man people are really quick to naysay a car that they haven't driven yet. Maybe we wait until we've driven it before we get sad about the platform sharing? Every time a new gen starts to come around we have this same conversation....

In Fords current financial state there is absolutely zero business case for a unique platform specifically for the Mustang. Especially when you pair that up with the fact that the people who say that want that, probably wouldn't buy it anyways because it would be far more expensive. Despite the consumer wanting some sort of analog bespoke supercar, it just isn't feasible for this segment.

I look forward to seeing what they can do, as there is absolutely nothing wrong with a flexible platform. BMW's CLAR platform is exactly that, and underpins complete opposite ends of the spectrum from the gigantic X7 down to the Z4/Supra, and I haven't heard anyone complaining about the Supra/Z4 handling at all....

 

[RalphK]

One can only dream of a 1968 fastback lookalike. My favorite of all. I do see quite a bit of that in the S550 15-17 though.

They are already in production in russia I believe. They take a tesla and make it look like a 1968 fastback.

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