Ford’s sixth-gen Mustang is wider, faster and meaner-looking; it’s also designed to woo drivers around the globe.
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Trouble was, all of that couldn't be done on the existing frame, even though the engineering work had already begun on the suspension and underbody. "We just weren't getting there," says Dave Pericak, the chief engineer. "By making all the dimensional changes, we ended up with all these constraints from the [design] studio."
Executives concluded they had to hit the reset button and eat millions of dollars in development costs. Out went the solid rear axle loved by drag racers. In came independent rear suspension favored by European drivers. That allowed designers to lower the roof and hood, giving the car a sportier look. The width between the rear wheels increased, which not only added stability but also let Callum accentuate the fastback roof profile--a signature Mustang design cue that had been lost for a couple of generations. "We are bringing the fastback back," says Pericak.
The most significant nod to global realities is under the hood. Ford will offer a thrifty, turbocharged four-cylinder EcoBoost engine, something that would have been unthinkable in the past. (There's enough power to punch it to 130 m.p.h., or 209 km/h, at least on the test track.) That will help the company meet more stringent efficiency standards abroad.
All these design changes, small and large, set off a cascade of consequences for everything from brakes to sheet metal. For instance, having restructured the back end, the team soon realized the front end had to be completely redesigned too. Says Pericak: "Everything we've done in this car--steering, suspension, braking, interior, exterior, storage--it's all been addressed. It didn't start out as a clean sheet of paper. But it ended up as one."
Driving a V-8, 420-h.p. Mustang GT has been all about straight, knock-your-noggin-into-the-headrest power, to the tune of a distinctive, throaty engine. Delicate it's not. Ford had to give its new sled better manners, though. So the steering wheel is smaller in diameter and the brakes are bigger to improve handling. The Mustang could always go. Now it can turn.
WILL THEY LIKE IT?
Is the new Mustang going to sell in Beijing and Berlin as well as it does in Birmingham? No. Ford expects 80% to 90% of sales to remain in North America. And 100% of the manufacturing will be in Ford's Flat Rock, Mich., plant near Detroit. On the basis of the Mustang's sales of 83,000 last year, that seems like an awful lot of work to move just 16,000 units elsewhere in the world.
Selling Mustangs all over the place isn't the point. Never was, says Farley. "Launching Mustang globally is not about the people who buy it," he says. "It's about the people who don't." If global consumers associate Mustang's unfettered freedom and self-expression with all Blue Oval--badged vehicles, he says, the Mustang will have done its sales job. "I have no doubt we'll sell every Mustang we make," he says. "But the purpose of this exercise is for people to emotionally connect with the Ford brand and Fiestas and Focuses and crossovers in Europe and China and Asia, Australia, Thailand, Russia, Brazil and Argentina. The good feelings will make them more inclined to buy Fiestas and F-150s."