The Generation Game: Ford Mustang

[Liquid]

The Generation Game: Ford Mustang

From the Golden Age of the Cool Wall comes a GTP Classic.

All Cobras.
All Bosses.
All SVOs.
All SVTs.

One poll. One.

1964-1966 Ford Mustang (MY 64)

Bodystyles: 2-door hardtop, 2-door convertible, 2-door fastback
Engines: 2.8 - 3.3L I6; 4.3 - 4.7L V8
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: ~1,270kg / 2,794kg

---

1967-1968 Ford Mustang (MY 67)

Bodystyles: 2-door hardtop, 2-door convertible, 2-door fastback
Engines: 3.3L I6; 4.7 - 7.0L V8
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: ~1,470kg / 3,234kg

---

1969-1970 Ford Mustang (MY 69)

Bodystyles: 2-door hardtop, 2-door convertible, 2-door fastback
Engines: 3.3 - 4.1L I6; 4.9 - 7.0L V8
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: ~1,520kg / 3,334kg

---

1971-1973 Ford Mustang (MY 71)

Bodystyles: 2-door hardtop, 2-door convertible, 2-door fastback
Engines: 4.1L I6; 4.9 - 7.0L V8
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: ~1,650kg / 3,630kg

---

1974-1978 Ford Mustang (Mustang II)

Bodystyles: 2-door coupe, 3-door hatchback
Engines: 2.3L I4; 2.8L I6; 4.9L V8
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: ~1,300kg / 2,860kg

---

1979-1993 Ford Mustang (Foxbody)

Bodystyles: 2-door coupe, 2-door convertible, 3-door hatchback
Engines: 2.3L I4; 2.3L turbocharged I4; 3.3L I6; 2.8 - 3.8L V6; 4.2 - 4.9L V8
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: ~1,275kg / 2,805kg

---

1994-2004 Ford Mustang (SN95)

Bodystyles: 2-door coupe, 2-door convertible
Engines: 3.8 - 3.9L V6; 4.6 - 5.4L V8
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: ~1,475kg / 3,245kg

---

2005-2014 Ford Mustang (S197)

Bodystyles: 2-door coupe, 2-door convertible
Engines: 3.7 - 4.0L V6; 4.6 - 5.0L V8
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: ~1,650kg / 3,630kg

---

2015-2023 Ford Mustang (S550)

Bodystyles: 2-door coupe, 2-door convertible
Engines: 2.3L turbocharged I4; 3.7L V6; 5.0 - 5.2L V8
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: ~1,800kg / 3,960kg

---

2024-present Ford Mustang (S650)

Bodystyles: 2-door coupe, 2-door convertible
Engines: 2.3L I4; 5.0 - 5.2L V8
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: ~1,700kg / 3,740kg

---

I consulted for this thread and the first generation has been split into the appropriate model years. The rest have their differences but take them for their entire generations as they are, facelifts and all.

If the specs are wrong, I won't reply to @s. Just tell us about the cars.

Previous Results & Nominations Thread

 

[05XR8]

As much as I would love to pick a 1971 for reasons, it would be really be a '69 V8 fastback, Foxbody LX 5.0 or SVO w/headlight covers.

I chose Foxbody because, it may not look like a classic Mustang, but it has all the pedigree of its lineage.

 

[NotThePrez]

There's a lot of goodness all across the Mustangs lifespan, but I'd personally go with the S550. Imo that gen (and the post-2011 S197) laid the major ground work towards the Mustang being (re-)established as modern global fighter that can genuinely compete with some of the best performance cars from Europe and Japan.

Now, if I had endless funds, I would turn every stone I could to get my hands on a Boss 302 or 429, no questions asked.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

The CX727.

 

[Joey D]

1969-70 Mustang is easily the coolest. I also like the Foxbody and the SN95. The absolute worst of them is the S197, it looks awful and has not aged very well. It was the hideous retro styling that plagued the 00's.

 

[GranTurNismo]

Foxbody was peak Mustang. I’ll live and die with that vote believe me.

 

[wfooshee]

The Foxbody was such a revelation after the Pinto - I mean Mustang II. I also can't see it without thinking of the TV show, Spencer for Hire.

It was the first Mustang that had muscle after the II, as well. Too bad for those folks that got the metric TRX wheels. The TRX wheel/tire system was pretty effective, but you HAD to get TRX tires or replace the wheels.

 

[FPV MIC]

Easily the 69-70 for me, but not too far back is the S550 series (the one model that I'm thinking of selling my FPV GT-P to buy).


From another thread... and yes, that model still sits in front of me on my desk.

I was always a bit car crazy but the one that tipped me over the edge was this one.

View attachment 1169609


Fifty years later and it's sitting in front of me on my desk... and it still looks like it's going fast while standing still

View attachment 1169610

 

[TumeK5]

The CX727.

Next generation game: Ford Capri

 

[-Fred-]

Last time I checked, Vanilla Ice never made it as cool, so why are people voting for the Fox? Slow ass 200hp pile of junk that could barely make it out of its own way... Granted it was an improvement over Mustang II, but so was walking.

S550 for me. First Mustang that could actually annoy an M3/M4, and we're not even talking about the GT350R. I was going to go New Edge Terminator at first but the SN95 sadly exists, so...

 

[ScottPuss20]

The 69 Mustang is the best. It gets my attention every time. I mean just look at it.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

I'm going to go with the S550. It was pretty impressive when it came out, though steering feel seems to be the weak point.

67 would be my close 2nd.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Foxbody was peak Mustang. I’ll live and die with that vote believe me.

Until you own one of them....

I will say the Fox mustangs can look cool and they are definitely back in fashion, but honestly they are utter garbage. There's a reason so few are left, because they are built very poorly with very poor metallurgy on basically every component, hapless body construction, interior pieces break if you look at them wrong, door handles that don't work...etc. The axle is secured laterally not with some well engineered device like a watts link (80s RX-7s had these) or even a panhard bar (contemporary Camaros had these) but with rear links so severely angled that they bind up during suspension compression. It's just a terrible design. The chassis is so weak that most of the cars out there probably have stress fractures in the pillars at this point...mine did. Easily the lowest quality car I've ever owned.

If I were to pick one, it would be a '70 Boss 302 followed closely by a '68 Fastback with a 390.

 

[Tornado]

The absolute worst of them is the S197, it looks awful and has not aged very well. It was the hideous retro styling that plagued the 00's.

And the 2010s, and the 2020s. Hopefully the Camaro instantly flopping because of it will make someone try something beyond "advertise to people who were in high school in the 1960s."


It's particularly annoying because the SN-95 (particularly the New Edge) already had done a good job of barking back to the original Mustang without being a hopeless caricature of it so Ford showed it was possible, though I'm sure the actual takeaway will be "we need more FWD mid-size crossovers instead."

 

[Chris30]

I chose the 1995-2004 (SN95) Mustang, I'm surprised that didn't get a higher vote count.

 

[TheCracker]

Difficult to choose on this. It's between the MY64, MY69 and S550.

I have a soft spot for the Foxbody too, but it's so dependent on year and trim level that i couldn't honestly add it to my short list.

In the end i went with MY64 as that's the one i've spent most time around so i have more of an affinity towards.

 

[Tornado]

Until you own one of them....

I will say the Fox mustangs can look cool and they are definitely back in fashion, but honestly they are utter garbage. There's a reason so few are left, because they are built very poorly with very poor metallurgy on basically every component, hapless body construction, interior pieces break if you look at them wrong, door handles that don't work...etc. The axle is secured laterally not with some well engineered device like a watts link (80s RX-7s had these) or even a panhard bar (contemporary Camaros had these) but with rear links so severely angled that they bind up during suspension compression. It's just a terrible design. The chassis is so weak that most of the cars out there probably have stress fractures in the pillars at this point...mine did. Easily the lowest quality car I've ever owned.

And then they cut the roof off.


Excepting a C5/C6 Corvette they are basically about as perfect of a practical sporty car as can be, though. That's why I always entertained the thought of one.

 

[lilcat89]

This is a very tough one for me. While the 69 Boss 302 is my favorite muscle car of all, I can't quite get away from the Coyote S197s that brought the Mustang back to the party after the Modular Motor years. Then there is the Foxbody, which has sentimental value to me. My dad had an 86 GT and I have always liked the idea of building a track prepped Foxbody.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

And then they cut the roof off.


Excepting a C5/C6 Corvette they are basically about as perfect of a practical sporty car as can be, though. That's why I always entertained the thought of one.

I will give the Fox this - a late notchback with full-length welded-on subframe connectors, heads/cam/intake, shorty headers, upgraded cooling system, 3.73 rear gears, relatively sorted suspension, upgraded brakes, better shifter, and upgraded seats hits a remarkably satisfying torque to weight to size mathematical ratio. My fox was trash, but a buddy of mine spent his car accident insurance payout doing all of the above to his and when that thing came on cam it was a really special experience. But we're getting a little into Ship of Theseus territory at that point.

 

[Tornado]

Yeah I've seen several Mustang GTs that someone threw an entire catalog at to make them drive like a mythical V8 equivalent of an SVO. Every stiffening bar and chassis brace and New Edge Cobra part that they can wedge in there, with the ubiquitous Cadillac Brembos and massive discs and lightweight wide 17 inch wheels that are reps but who cares when most people just throw ugly drag wheels on them. I've even seen one where someone did the Holy Grail of sticking the Terminator rear end in one. Conceptually, as someone who loves doing that specific thing with cars and has done that with cars several times (and wishes so much that XLR-vs weren't so overpriced so I could have done that with one of those and a box of Z06 parts instead of buying an XKR where almost all of that work was done for me), I love the idea.



But that's an awful lot of work for a car that when you're done and spent countless hours and thousands of dollars working on you've got something as performant as if you just went and bought a 370z. And now they're also outrageously priced on top of that.

 

[Liquid]

I could be completely wrong on this but I think there's a bit of a myth in the Mustang lineage. The more I look at the glaring gap from 1974-1994, the more I think that the idea that the Mustang is one continuous legacy, warts and all for better or for worse, doesn't add up to me. The Rustan-sorry, Mustang II is obviously a compact car that wasn't anything like the pony car that the Mustang had been built up to be at that point. The Foxbody looks more like a hybrid of Ford Europe and Ford Australia, kind of like it was made on slightly more "world car" principles, even if just in design and style, more than its predecessors.

Sure, some of those cars had the big V8s you'd associate with a Mustang but I don't see "the" Mustang returning until the SN95. As others have mentioned, it captures a nice retro look without going obnoxiously overboard about it and that generation of Mustang was much more of a performance pony than anything in the previous 20 years. It's as though Ford has had three different cars called the Mustang - a pony car, a compact and a sporty-ish coupe. Again, this could be me seeing something completely ridiculous that isn't really there.

That said, I actually quite like the look of the Foxbody, it has some of the design language of the Thunderbird that I also quite like. I also really, really love the SN95 in yet another case of First Installment Wins. In particular the SVT Cobra R from GT3 was a huge favourite of mine back in the day. I haven't liked any of the laughable try-hard retro blobs that have come since then.

As for my vote, I think it has to be the original. I'm sure it's strange to others but whilst I accept and get it that the 1969 Mustang is the definitive Mustang that the public consciousness has come to hold, I think the original is the car I'd like to have. I did choose the image of Stanley Tucker's #001 production model for a reason. The styling, the wheels, the Ford lettering on the bonnet, it looks magnificent.

To finish, apropos not really having the chance to bring it up elsewhere, I think it's hilarious that a car so associated with testosterone poisoning and "manliness" was very much marketed as a girl's car upon launch. I swear that someone once posted an image of a Mustang marketing poster which basically advertised it as a 6-pot stroller for grandma to go to the shops in but I cannot find it anywhere on the board. Additionally to this point, two of the very first films to ever feature a Ford Mustang were James Bond films - Tilly Masterson drives a pre-production model in Goldfinger and Fione Volpe drives one in Thunderball. James Bond films, Bond girl cars.

So if you every hear anyone cry CRT or woke on the Mustang, have fun telling them that it's been woke from the very beginning.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Yeah I've seen several Mustang GTs that someone threw an entire catalog at to make them drive like a mythical V8 equivalent of an SVO. Every stiffening bar and chassis brace and New Edge Cobra part that they can wedge in there, with the ubiquitous Cadillac Brembos and massive discs and lightweight wide 17 inch wheels that are reps but who cares when most people just throw ugly drag wheels on them. I've even seen one where someone did the Holy Grail of sticking the Terminator rear end in one. Conceptually, as someone who loves doing that specific thing with cars and has done that with cars several times (and wishes so much that XLR-vs weren't so overpriced so I could have done that with one of those and a box of Z06 parts instead of buying an XKR where almost all of that work was done for me), I love the idea.



But that's an awful lot of work for a car that when you're done and spent countless hours and thousands of dollars working on you've got something as performant as if you just went and bought a 370z. And now they're also outrageously priced on top of that.

It is a bit silly that you need all this work to make a vehicle fit for it's intended purpose and yet somehow they've become so desirable. For those who haven't cut out the floor of a Mustang and welded in a new one, I should note the earlier Mustangs weren't better...every generation pre-S197 (actually not sure about the MII, never learned about those) has the "third spring" which is basically the nearly-flat (meaning minimal shaping to increase MOI) area of the body between the front and rear subframe that is just pressed 18 gauge sheet metal. The only bending resistance is from the trans tunnel and forget torsional resistance, there just isn't any...particularly the convertibles. Looking back, the fact that you need to strengthen the chassis of your sports car, yourself, to make it handle somewhat predictably and not taco itself during drag launches is pretty wild. If I were to compare my 1984 RX7 and my 1991 Mustang the difference in quality and engineering is shocking...probably bigger than the difference between that same RX7 and my 2023 Honda CRV.

I could be completely wrong on this but I think there's a bit of a myth in the Mustang lineage. The more I look at the glaring gap from 1974-1994, the more I think that the idea that the Mustang is one continuous legacy, warts and all for better or for worse, doesn't add up to me. The Rustan-sorry, Mustang II is obviously a compact car that wasn't anything like the pony car that the Mustang had been built up to be at that point. The Foxbody looks more like a hybrid of Ford Europe and Ford Australia, kind of like it was made on slightly more "world car" principles, even if just in design and style, more than its predecessors.

Sure, some of those cars had the big V8s you'd associate with a Mustang but I don't see "the" Mustang returning until the SN95. As others have mentioned, it captures a nice retro look without going obnoxiously overboard about it and that generation of Mustang was much more of a performance pony than anything in the previous 20 years. It's as though Ford has had three different cars called the Mustang - a pony car, a compact and a sporty-ish coupe. Again, this could be me seeing something completely ridiculous that isn't really there.

That said, I actually quite like the look of the Foxbody, it has some of the design language of the Thunderbird that I also quite like. I also really, really love the SN95 in yet another case of First Installment Wins. In particular the SVT Cobra R from GT3 was a huge favourite of mine back in the day. I haven't liked any of the laughable try-hard retro blobs that have come since then.

As for my vote, I think it has to be the original. I'm sure it's strange to others but whilst I accept and get it that the 1969 Mustang is the definitive Mustang that the public consciousness has come to hold, I think the original is the car I'd like to have. I did choose the image of Stanley Tucker's #001 production model for a reason. The styling, the wheels, the Ford lettering on the bonnet, it looks magnificent.

To finish, apropos not really having the chance to bring it up elsewhere, I think it's hilarious that a car so associated with testosterone poisoning and "manliness" was very much marketed as a girl's car upon launch. I swear that someone once posted an image of a Mustang marketing poster which basically advertised it as a 6-pot stroller for grandma to go to the shops in but I cannot find it anywhere on the board. Additionally to this point, two of the very first films to ever feature a Ford Mustang were James Bond films - Tilly Masterson drives a pre-production model in Goldfinger and Fione Volpe drives one in Thunderball. James Bond films, Bond girl cars.

So if you every hear anyone cry CRT or woke on the Mustang, have fun telling them that it's been woke from the very beginning.

Funny because I see the 1979-2004 Mustangs as more or less the same car with different bodywork. In fact I see the Mustang in 5 generations primarily:

1964-1973: Economy car platform with handsome body and (optionally) a lot of power, accelerating waistline.
1974-1978: Oil crisis mobile
1979-2004: Flimsy cheap chassis, styling all over the place
2005-2015: Quasi-modernized platform, pastiche styling
2016-Present: Genuinely-modernized platform, evolved styling

I also think most people see the 1967-1968 Mustang (AKA Bullitt) as the definitive model, which is what Ford was trying to channel with the 2005 Retro-pastiche. While the V8 Mustangs are very toxic-masuclinity, the fields of base model cars out there have never been.

For what it's worth, the 1994-2004 interiors in my experience are even worse than the '87-93 interiors. The body construction on the SN95/New Edge improved (hey the door handles work!) but man that interior is gross.

 

[Tornado]

I could be completely wrong on this but I think there's a bit of a myth in the Mustang lineage. The more I look at the glaring gap from 1974-1994, the more I think that the idea that the Mustang is one continuous legacy, warts and all for better or for worse, doesn't add up to me. The Rustan-sorry, Mustang II is obviously a compact car that wasn't anything like the pony car that the Mustang had been built up to be at that point. The Foxbody looks more like a hybrid of Ford Europe and Ford Australia, kind of like it was made on slightly more "world car" principles, even if just in design and style, more than its predecessors.

I mean... that's a bit like arguing that there's a big gap in the Camaro's lineage because it wasn't always an overbearing parody of a 1967 Camaro/1997 Prelude like GM started selling after 2005. The Fox Body, especially when it first came out, was basically 1:1 a replication of the relationship that the Falcon and Mustang had with each other, but they called the Falcon "Fairmont" instead. It's just as applied to late 1970s design principles instead of early 1960s ones. If it had come out 5 years later it probably would have copied the 924's homework just as much as the Camaro did.

It is a bit silly that you need all this work to make a vehicle fit for it's intended purpose and yet somehow they've become so desirable. For those who haven't cut out the floor of a Mustang and welded in a new one, I should note the earlier Mustangs weren't better...every generation pre-S197 (actually not sure about the MII, never learned about those) has the "third spring" which is basically the nearly-flat (meaning minimal shaping to increase MOI) area of the body between the front and rear subframe that is just pressed 18 gauge sheet metal. The only bending resistance is from the trans tunnel and forget torsional resistance, there just isn't any...particularly the convertibles. Looking back, the fact that you need to strengthen the chassis of your sports car, yourself, to make it handle somewhat predictably and not taco itself during drag launches is pretty wild. If I were to compare my 1984 RX7 and my 1991 Mustang the difference in quality and engineering is shocking...probably bigger than the difference between that same RX7 and my 2023 Honda CRV.

I've driven a couple SN-95 Mustang convertibles (an early Grand Am GT and a New Edge pre-Terminator Cobra) and the infamously-noodly, GM-demanded-they-make-it-a-full-targa-18-months-before-debut C4 that I happily daily drove for 7 years was night and day vs that. Even the coupe I drove (an New Edge GT) didn't seem any stiffer than Ryoko was with the roof off (after I put the heim joint frame rail stiffeners and giant steel camber brace on, granted).


As I understand it the "pure" Fox body cars are even worse even though they are much smaller.

For what it's worth, the 1994-2004 interiors in my experience are even worse than the '87-93 interiors. The body construction on the SN95/New Edge improved (hey the door handles work!) but man that interior is gross.

Yeah. I had been thinking of if I should have put a qualifier on this:

It's particularly annoying because the SN-95 (particularly the New Edge) already had done a good job of barking back to the original Mustang without being a hopeless caricature of it so Ford showed it was possible

They look neat, with a cool throwback chique to them tightly wound around contemporary design trends (something like a homeless man's X100 XK8); but they are so bad in actual quality and ergonomics that a Z24 would probably be a nicer place to be. Even the worst of GM sporty cars of the time at least tended to have really nice seats and controls that fell perfectly to hand. It makes it all the more fascinating that deTomaso/Qvale thought taking literally the entire thing straight from Ford and covering it in expensive leather would be acceptable 5 years after the SN-95 debuted.