Should the Mustang become a two seater or go to a usable 4?

[jacknifetoaswan]

If the car only change by (179" vs 188") 9 inches in overall length and the wheelbase got 7" of that change, how much different could the engine compartment length be? Both fit 5 liter engines with rear wheel drive. I hate to say it but the S550 has a foot of dead air space due to the design of the front bumper. It is all for show. there is next to nothing in there. If they had the simplistic front end of the Fox, I bet they could get at least half of that space back and then the difference between the Fox and the S550 would be closer still.

Yeah, then you, and everyone else, would bitch that the car looked like shit.

The fact is that packaging and looks are compromises. Also, the difference in physical dimensions of the engine, not the internal combustion volume. 5 liter means nothing, if the engines use different cam technology. Further, the suspension components of the S550 are way more advanced and way larger than a Fox. That means space.

JR

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[shogun32]

Given my sightlines, seat position and amount of arm bend (5'11, and about 120deg with hands at 3+9) I think the front seat rear limit could have been moved up 2". The roofline could have been moved forward by an equal or greater amount and raised at least an inch and nobody would notice. Yes I know it's a Pony car but if you look at the designs of yore the cockpit wasn't smooshed down as far as they could get away with. It doesn't need to be Mach-E or RAV4 high but I think Ford overdid it.

 

[17Magnetic5.0]

If the car only change by (179" vs 188") 9 inches in overall length and the wheelbase got 7" of that change, how much different could the engine compartment length be? Both fit 5 liter engines with rear wheel drive. I hate to say it but the S550 has a foot of dead air space due to the design of the front bumper. It is all for show. there is next to nothing in there. If they had the simplistic front end of the Fox, I bet they could get at least half of that space back and then the difference between the Fox and the S550 would be closer still.

The two 5.0’s are very different. The pushrod 5.0 of the fox was much smaller compared to today’s DOHC 5.0 which is derived from the 4.6 DOHC. The modern 5.0 is in reality a huge engine. Look at how big it is compared to a Chevy 6.2 pushrod. Maybe in terms of length the 5.0’s are close though but in terms of width they’re very far from each other. Honestly though the fox body looks like it had a crammed engine bay too and I personally rather have space to work on the engine (And space to mount some turbos) and sacrifice something else such as trunk space.

 

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

I think some of the extra wheel base in the S550 is the front wheels moving forward a few inches compared to the fox body - from pictures it appears the S550 has less front overhang than the fox body Mustang GTs. Also, the S550 front wheel well is larger and starts further ahead of the door, further indication that some of that wheel base stretch was to move the front wheels forward (better for weight distribution). The rear overhangs look similar in length, but hard to tell. Although, again, the wheel well is further away from the door compared to the fox body Mustangs. Could be due to different door length, but they look similar in photos.

I voted keep the Mustang the same. Back seats usable for kids, but not really for adults over ~5'6". I'm only 5'10" and I can't even come close to sitting straight up in the back seat, regardless of leg room (and I'm lean/musuclar not overweight). My head hits the glass. The fastback shape on the S550 looks perfect, but it comes w/ compromises in rear seat headroom. If they could start the slope a tad further back they could regain some of that lost headroom, although it probably wouldn't look as awesome. The fastback shape is one of my favorite aspects of my GT.

The thinner padding of both the front and rear seats would help with legroom - not sure why they don't do that already. My wife's Volvo XC90 has thinner seats than my Mustang, but they are very comfortable still. It's more about losing the back half padding, not the front padding of the seating surface.

 

[17Magnetic5.0]

I think I found the perfect solution that meets everyone’s need. Four seater coupe with a midengine and it looks like it has plenty of Frunk space as well. Now how do we get ford to make us one that starts at 30000

 

[shogun32]

You can't tell me this looks horrible. (I'm no artist) 2nd one has cabin raised about 2 inches and front window moved 3 or so forward and elongated to match. The original is way too heavy below the belt-line.

 

[Fly2High]

just for kicks and giggles, I looked up the dimensions of the Windsor 302 and the Coyote engines

https://www.onallcylinders.com/2018/03/23/ford-windsor-modular-engine-external-dimensions/

Coyote
Length 26"
Width: 28"
Height: 27"

Windsor 302
Length 27.5"
Width: 18.75"
Height: 20.75"

I did not realize how much narrower a pushrod engine can be!!

The bigger surprise is the 302 Windsor was actually 1.5" LONGER in length. The old Fox body engine was longer. The coyote is shorter. It is not much and certainly not enough to account for the length differences.

From what I can tell, the Windsor was in use from the 60's through the early 90's when the Modular engine family took over.

 

[Fly2High]

I think I found the perfect solution that meets everyone’s need. Four seater coupe with a midengine and it looks like it has plenty of Frunk space as well. Now how do we get ford to make us one that starts at 30000

Put a 6sp in it and I am sold!! I always wondered if it would be possible to make a 2+2 or 4 seater with a mid engine. Now they just need to make it so I can afford one.

 

[17Magnetic5.0]

Put a 6sp in it and I am sold!! I always wondered if it would be possible to make a 2+2 or 4 seater with a mid engine. Now they just need to make it so I can afford one.

And a V8 because they’re using a 3 cylinder engine with no camshaft. They’re operating the valves with solenoids, I’m not sure how that’ll hold up in the longrun.

 

[Fly2High]

And a V8 because they’re using a 3 cylinder engine with no camshaft. They’re operating the valves with solenoids, I’m not sure how that’ll hold up in the longrun.

think how easy it is to swap! it would be like swapping coil packs

 

[526 HRSE]

300zx had a 2 + 2 option that you couldn't really tell from the outside. I'm not sure why the Mustang is the size that it is, but it does seem that an extra 2" in length and height wouldn't kill the car.

 

[526 HRSE]

It's not only leg room that is lacking. I'm not super tall and my head hits the liner in the back seat. No way i'd sit back there on any length of drive.

 

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

You can't tell me this looks horrible. (I'm no artist) 2nd one has cabin raised about 2 inches and front window moved 3 or so forward and elongated to match. The original is way too heavy below the belt-line.

I don't think it would look that good. Besides, I wouldn't want the engine moving 3" forward in the car. I don't think they would have to raise the roof or extend the entire cabin forward like you've suggested, though. A better compromise for looks/performance to get more rear seat room would be to start the sloping fastback further back, and to move the rear seats back and down a bit. Obviously, the further back the seats are located, the further back the rear slope has to start, so there's limits. But lowering the rear seats an inch would help counter that. If the trunk was an inch or two less deep, it would be a negligible loss in trunk space.

 

[Drewgamer]

I've found the headroom in my 2020 lacking compared to my 2007 (I'm 5'10" and fit semi-comfortably) and can imagine anyone taller would have a bad time.

I feel like the trunk space is a lot better designed though, so maybe that's where all the back-seat space went?

That said, I'm fine with the current setup. I'd rather have the better trunk than more back-seat space. If someone wants to ride in the car they can put up with the cramped space, or drive their own damn self

 

[GT 550]

You can't tell me this looks horrible. (I'm no artist) 2nd one has cabin raised about 2 inches and front window moved 3 or so forward and elongated to match. The original is way too heavy below the belt-line.

Sorry Matt, it looks horrible. It's pretty much exactly what they did to accommodate the control spec roll cage for Mustangs racing in the V8 Supercars series. The locals were not happy.

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