2005 Ford Mustang GT Coupe

After 25 years on the sturdy but now outdated Fox platform, the new Mustang is blessed with a 100-percent more rigid chassis that's shared with Jaguar's S-Type. And it's 31-percent stronger in torsional stiffness.


Forty years ago, Ford's 1964-1/2 Mustang was an overnight smash. The Mustang virtually invented the soon-to-explode ponycar category, with sharp-looking coupes, fastbacks and drop-tops that could be optioned and accessorized from a simple tourer, with an economic little six, to the thundering Shelby GT350, a purpose-built, race-ready V-8-powered road rocket. To its surprise, Ford sold over 400,000 Mustangs in the car's first extended year, cleaned up in SCCA Trans Am racing and created an American icon that's beloved by fans everywhere, even overseas. Although the racing horse in the Mustang's grille is often thought to be the inspiration for the model's name, it was actually borrowed from the World War II P-51 fighter airplane.
Reprising an automotive icon is a tough challenge. All too often, the original remains better than every attempt to improve it. That was Ford Motor Company's challenge with the sixth-generation Mustang.
So, what's new? Nearly everything. After 25 years on the sturdy but now outdated Fox platform, the new Mustang is blessed with a 100-percent more rigid chassis that's shared with Jaguar's S-Type. And it's 31-percent stronger in torsional stiffness. Simply stated, the Mustang looks just right. Its saucy combination of long hood/short deck architecture, now on a nearly six-inch longer wheelbase, reprises the original's classic looks. Ford's stylists updated popular '60s-era Mustang styling cues like the "fish gills" surrounding the grille, the round driving lamps and the "hockey stick" side C-scoops from vintage 'Stangs like the '64 fastback and '69 Boss 302. The early Mustang's shark-like protruding nose and its distinctive tri-bar taillights have been smartly updated, too. The result is a car that simply and beautifully screams, Mustang! without excess clutter and confusion.
Author: Ken Gross
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