New Mustang same as the old Mustang: renderings of the 2015 model are released

Mustang fanatics might just have pulled back the curtain on one of the most hotly anticipated models in a while: the 2015 Mustang. The results are, surprisingly, disappointing.

The images come from the forum Mustang6G, and are supposedly based on the actual CAD drawing of the upcoming car. I can just picture sweaty forum dwellers sorting through dumpsters outside of Ford searching for anything related to the new Mustang.

The renderings – if not my mental picture – are believable because they match up pretty closely to the few details visible in spy shots of test cars. Even so I hope that these images turn out to be inaccurate.

It isn’t that the rendered Mustang is bad looking – it is a handsome brute – it’s that it is barely different from the generation its replacing.

Sure, the lights and grille are a bit different and the lines are a little less blocky and a little more refined than the outgoing model, but these are the sort of changes you would expect in a mid-generation facelift.

It’s as if the design team sat down and said: “We like the current Mustang. Let’s just slap some new headlights on it, stretch it out a bit for the new platform, and go home early.”

If all this is true, it seems that Ford has opted not to rock the boat with a dramatic new look. That’s understandable from a business perspective because the Mustang is an important model to Ford’s future. But it is also no fun. We were hoping it’d look more Evos concept than, well, current Mustang.

I love to see automakers take risks and push the envelope of design and performance. People will remember the last generation of Mustang because it was one of the first and best cars of the retro design movement. No one will remember the mid-nineties Camaro ,which looked like a slightly smashed version of every sedan made during that decade – aka a door stop.

If this Mustang is going to be remembered, it will have to be a great car to drive. Of that, I am happy to say, there is hope.

This will be the first run-of-the-mill Mustang to come standard with independent rear suspension; an innovation that appeared on my father’s 1972 Triumph TR6. When British Leyland is beating your technology from the grave, you know it’s time to change.

Another 21^st century change will be an optional 2.3-liter turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder. We know that this will appear on the European model and it appears likely to be sold in the United States as well.

Along with reduced weight, these modern touches will allow the Mustang to compete not just as a pony car but as a true sports car. Don’t worry, though; there will still be plenty of V8s available for purists and performance nuts alike.