Looks like Ford is coming out with a competitor

[Adam Brouillard]

https://fordauthority.com/2023/08/ford-to-debut-mid-engine-mustang-this-thursday-exclusive/

I would definitely like to see something with Ford GT looks at Corvette pricing.

Selling it under the Mustang brand seems odd though. That would almost be reason enough for me to not to consider it. I'd rather it be sold as Ford GT-something.

 

[eriegz]

Selling it under the Mustang brand seems odd though.

Wider-appeal, I guess? And I assume they would be competing directly with the Corvette, so in buyers' minds it can still be a "Mustang or Corvette" choice?

I any case, super interested to see what Ford comes up with!

 

[Porter]

DO WHAAAT?

This is crazy.

If Multimatic is building it, this is going to be something special. I can't wait to see what it looks like.

 

[Adam Brouillard]

Wider-appeal, I guess? And I assume they would be competing directly with the Corvette, so in buyers' minds it can still be a "Mustang or Corvette" choice?

I any case, super interested to see what Ford comes up with!

Yeah, I suppose I've always felt the Mustang was lower tier, and not really a competitor to the Vette. Gives off more drag race, muscle car vibes. At track days, I normally see about 1/3 Porsches, 1/3 Vettes, and 1/3 everything else. I almost never see Mustangs.

I'd much rather spend 70k+ on a car called a Ford GT-something, than a Ford Mustang-something. I think the Corvette has a respectable name, I just can't get past the walmart-brand supercar looks. Hopefully Ford does a better job.

 

[Porter]

Yeah, I suppose I've always felt the Mustang was lower tier, and not really a competitor to the Vette. Gives off more drag race, muscle car vibes. At track days, I normally see about 1/3 Porsches, 1/3 Vettes, and 1/3 everything else. I almost never see Mustangs.

I'd much rather spend 70k+ on a car called a Ford GT-something, than a Ford Mustang-something. I think the Corvette has a respectable name, I just can't get past the walmart-brand supercar looks. Hopefully Ford does a better job.

The recent S550 platform Mustangs in the last ~5-7 years of development have dramatically moved on from the old "point and gas" formula, and are really compelling engineering-led products now, with suspension and handling refinement that most people would associate with top tier European brands rather than a muscle car. It's kind of amazing to see what they've done to refine the Mustang chassis and suspension from both a design and tuning quality perspective, honestly. It doesn't drive the way most people expect based on the image they have in their heads about the brand and the product, even if they have relatively recent experience with driving them in late S197 or early S550 variations. And the new S650 chassis (FR) looks to be an even more radical evolution of that approach. So I can't imagine what they are going to do with a bespoke MR platform spun off from the same world-class engineering team.

To take a step back and look at it broadly... I think it's possibly the pivot inside the company that happened with the Focus RS and the Hoonigan brand attention that un-stuck some of the old guard (or led to their retirement), and the product goals really shifted subsequently across their whole portfolio. I think they realized that the Boomer demographic was shrinking, not growing, and they were going to have to appeal to a younger car-culture demographic that are MUCH, MUCH more knowledgeable about actual automotive performance (and have far higher expectations) than the traditional Mustang customer. Or Bronco customer. Or any of their other core image products. It's an exciting thing to watch.

 

[Nova]

If Multimatic is building it, I doubt this thing is anywhere near $100k.

 

[Lotustoronto]

This will be very interesting.... we are certainly living in the end of the ICE era.... some of these cars coming in the next 12-24 months are going to be epic I think. Would have liked to see them call this mid-engine care something besides mustang. Im sure there is something in the heritage to pull from?

Ford Mach 2 was a mid-engine concept from the 60's. Still, either a new name all together or something that says junior Ford GT in a way.

If there's a manual mid-engine sub 100K.... Emira is going to have more comp than we think.

 

[VL3X]

I would definitely like to see something with Ford GT looks at Corvette pricing.

Yeah, that would be awesome. I imagine the C8 is their main focus of competition, so it should be priced accordingly. Though it looks more like a Mustang than a Ford GT in these leaked pics..

 

[Porter]

Yeah, that would be awesome. I imagine the C8 is their main focus of competition, so it should be priced accordingly. Though it looks more like a Mustang than a Ford GT in these leaked pics..

View attachment 30303

I don't think that's actually the car. The layout doesn't make any sense for a MR configuration, considering the location of the door and the rear tire.

I would hope reality would be something shaped more like these (obviously too wild) renders...

This Mid-Engined Ford Mustang Would Challenge The Chevy C8 Corvette

In an alternative universe, we dream up the Ford Mustang S650 as a mid-engine supercar

www.topspeed.com

 

[Lotustoronto]

Yeah, that would be awesome. I imagine the C8 is their main focus of competition, so it should be priced accordingly. Though it looks more like a Mustang than a Ford GT in these leaked pics..

View attachment 30303

If that is their mid-engine mustang to compete against a C8 - well ford shouldn't even try. That is a terrible go at a mid-engine sports car.

 

[Adam Brouillard]

The recent S550 platform Mustangs in the last ~5-7 years of development have dramatically moved on from the old "point and gas" formula, and are really compelling engineering-led products now, with suspension and handling refinement that most people would associate with top tier European brands rather than a muscle car. It's kind of amazing to see what they've done to refine the Mustang chassis and suspension from both a design and tuning quality perspective, honestly. It doesn't drive the way most people expect based on the image they have in their heads about the brand and the product, even if they have relatively recent experience with driving them in late S197 or early S550 variations. And the new S650 chassis (FR) looks to be an even more radical evolution of that approach. So I can't imagine what they are going to do with a bespoke MR platform spun off from the same world-class engineering team.

To take a step back and look at it broadly... I think it's possibly the pivot inside the company that happened with the Focus RS and the Hoonigan brand attention that un-stuck some of the old guard (or led to their retirement), and the product goals really shifted subsequently across their whole portfolio. I think they realized that the Boomer demographic was shrinking, not growing, and they were going to have to appeal to a younger car-culture demographic that are MUCH, MUCH more knowledgeable about actual automotive performance (and have far higher expectations) than the traditional Mustang customer. Or Bronco customer. Or any of their other core image products. It's an exciting thing to watch.

Yeah, the Mustang is a well made machine and does perfectly well at the track for a street car. I just personally want something more supercar looking to drive on the streets. At the track, I always drove a purpose built racecar.

 

[Nova]

Yea, that looks terrible. Feels like I need a Master Chief helmet to go along with it.

 

[Aero]

If they make it look a lot like the Ford GT (and not a Mustang in any way), cost around 100k,and available with a manual trans (doubtful). It will be very tempting..even though a Ford.

 

[eriegz]

An industry insider who's not authorised to speak on the behalf of the company told me that Ford's new mid-engined Mustang will look like one of the following:

 

[dgrace]

LOL at

Business in the front, party in the back!

 

[eriegz]

Yeah, that would be awesome. I imagine the C8 is their main focus of competition, so it should be priced accordingly. Though it looks more like a Mustang than a Ford GT in these leaked pics..

View attachment 30303

Found a better version of that 2nd supposedly-spy shot. Looks like it might be real, honestly...

 

[VL3X]

Found a better version of that 2nd supposedly-spy shot. Looks like it might be real, honestly...

Yup...

Leaked Ford Mustang GTD Makes the Dark Horse Look Tame

The new Ford Mustang supercar will allegedly debut on Thursday at Pebble Beach during Monterey Car Week.

www.thedrive.com

 

[Adam Brouillard]

Found a better version of that 2nd supposedly-spy shot. Looks like it might be real, honestly...

Well, if that's real then I can see why they would sell it under the mustang brand... also my Emira deposit is safe. That's hideous. I think I would rather have that crown vic?/ford GT AI generated abomination.

 

[idleuser]

LOL at

Business in the front, party in the back!

I placed a deposit based on this. I wonder if I have to wait 3+ years before it arrives.

 

[Porter]

I feel like something else has to be afoot. That GTD thing is a pretty awful styling exercise, plus the shape doesn't make any sense for a mid-engine car.

I literally can't imagine a world where Ford has Multimatic build a mid-engine vehicle on a bespoke chassis, and makes it look like that. No amount of vape haze or flat-brim hat pulled too low can solve for the visual disconnect compared to what people generally expect from the styling of a mid-engine sports car.