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Report: Next-Gen Ford Mustang To Get Independent Suspension, Global Platform

 
10 8,461 views Jan 21, 2010
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2011 Ford Mustang GT

HI-RES GALLERY: 2011 Ford Mustang GT

The 2011 Ford Mustang (pictured) just hit the show floor in Detroit earlier this month, but already talk of the next-gen model is circulating. The latest reports hint at a global platform and an independent rear suspension.

Hard as it may be to believe, the current Mustang still uses the solid-axle design of cars from the 1960s. Despite the low-tech suspension, the Mustang delivers a great deal of performance. The archaic mechanics do lead to some interesting driving characteristics, however, as we noted in our reviews of the 2009 Ford Mustang GT Glasstop and the 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500.

Updating to an independent rear suspension would finally put the Mustang on truly equal footing with the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, though its current handicap doesn't appear to hold it back much in terms of real-world performance. That opens the door to the possibility that the lighter, somewhat smaller next-gen Mustang might wipe the floor with the Camaro. The next-gen Mustang is expected in 2014, according to the report, putting it squarely in the middle of the Camaro's product cycle--meaning Chevy would likely have to wait another two to three years before answering with its own updates. That date also marks the 50th anniversary of the Mustang, warranting some special treatment of the car.

Putting the Mustang onto a global rear-drive platform could also open the door to a more performance-focused vehicle, balancing the improved handling of the new chassis with a version of Ford's EcoBoost twin-turbo V-6 engine. Fuel efficiency, emissions and Ford's own future powertrain directions all point to this as a real possibility, though the 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 engine developed for the car won't be going into the bin anytime soon, either.

Earlier reports had put the next-gen Mustang on a variant of the Ford Falcon's rear-drive platform, but that model isn't doing so well in its homeland of Australia, and rear-wheel drive in general isn't particularly conducive to the lightweight packaging necessary to yield maximal fuel economy--a rising concern for any model that will be sold around the globe. Those countervailing factors put the Mustang-Falcon tie up on shaky ground, though as we're still four years out, things may well change.

[Motor Trend]





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Comments (10)

  1. By bepsf Posted: 1/21/2010 11:25am PST

    Nelson -
    Just because the Falcon is currently struggling Down Under isn't an indictment on RWD - With that kind of logic, since Audi is having a tough time moving A3's - the next A3 as well as the Golf VII and Seat Leon should be RWD???
    ...and certainly Ford wouldn't choose to move the next Mustang to a FWD platform - We already went though that riduculous idea in the 80's w/ the Ford Probe.
     
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  2. By john m Posted: 1/21/2010 12:00pm PST

    It's ABOUT FREAKIN' TIME!!!! Granted Fords solid axle in the Mustang is probably THE best one ever made but these days it's like saying you make the best flathead engine ever. I know the drag racers out there will miss the solid axel but for EVERYONE ELSE, this will be a great thing. The Mustang is already light, and with the new 3.7 and 5.0 it's powerful. And now with a proper independent rear suspension, it should be more stable in turns over bumps as well as more agile.
     
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  3. Nelson avatar Nelson Ireson Posted: 1/21/2010 12:19pm PST

    Bepsf--I wasn't meaning to imply an indictment on RWD, just on the use of the Falcon platform, as the Falcon itself may not have much of a future.
    Also, I didn't say the next Mustang would be FWD, only that RWD has challenges that would restrict it to a sport-focused car like the Mustang, rather than a family sedan like the Falcon.
    But your point about the Probe--as good a car as it was, in some ways--is well taken. A FWD Mustang is no Mustang at all.
     
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  4. By bepsf Posted: 1/21/2010 12:39pm PST

    Nelson--
    True, you didn't say that the next Mustang would be RWD - however there isn't much economic sense in developing a whole new RWD platform for a single application.
    It would make more sense for Ford to simply update the current platform w/ IRS and a new skin like they did w/ the Fox platform Mustangs for about 25 years...
    ...update the existing Falcon platform for Mustang...
    ...or make a radical move and obtain a RWD platform by either partnering w/ another company to develop one to share.
    Even purchasing an advanced but "obsolete" RWD platform from another manufacturer - such as that of BMW's soon to be replaced E92/E93 3-Series - would surely be less expensive and more economically sound than developing a unique platform on their own.
     
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  5. By reffect Posted: 1/21/2010 1:41pm PST

    The Ford Probe had a 9 year run from 1988 to 1997.
    "Total sales amounted to 837,273 units in its eight-year production run. In 1997, sales dropped to only 32,505 units, and the Probe was finally discontinued."
    --but I'm not arguing your point. FWD was/is NOT for the Mustang.
     
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  6. By  larry Crim Posted: 1/21/2010 2:21pm PST

    I hope Ford stays with the solid rear axle. I haven't been impressed at the drag strip with any of the independent rear suspensions yet. GM has sure had their share of problems with IRS.
     
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  7. By bepsf Posted: 1/21/2010 3:50pm PST

    "I haven't been impressed at the drag strip with any of the independent rear suspensions yet."
    Yeah - because so many Mustang owners do the standing 1/4 mile between home and office...
     
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  8. By MustangDestroysZR1 Posted: 1/22/2010 12:45pm PST

    I would like the Next generation Ford Mustang to Wipe the Floor with the Corvette ZR1 forget the junky Camaro! IRS and AWD
     
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  9. By  Ford Mustang Posted: 1/27/2010 6:22pm PST

    The independent suspension is welcomed, but remember, that Ford's research for the concept showed that the public wanted a solid axle Mustang.
    Even as it sits now, it pulls .87 g on the skidpad, so it's no slouch!
     
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  10. By Tim Plotts Posted: 11/20/2010 7:36am PST

    "That opens the door to the possibility that the lighter, somewhat smaller next-gen Mustang might wipe the floor with the Camaro."
    According to the reviews by all the major car magazines, it already does.
     
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