Mustang Blog

2010 Mustang Will Be Leaner By Design

By Matt Rigney, Author,June 3rd, 2008 Matt Rigney

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Another tidbit of news has come out about the 2010 Mustang via Design Chief of FoMoCo Peter Horbury who in an interview with Automotive News said the redesigned Mustang will look smaller by design but retain the same dimensions as previous years. With this type of design Ford is hoping the leaner look of the Mustang compared to the Challenger which is 10.1 inches longer and 1.8 inches wider along with over 500lbs more wieght will entice buyers to think smaller is better.

"We have a car which I think is more suitable for the times than the Challenger and the Camaro," Horbury told Automotive News. "Especially the Challenger--it is a huge car when you see it on the road."

"By cleverness in design, we've been able to make it look like the wheels are further out, further forward and further rearward," Horbury said. "The center line is the longest part" of the next Mustang, he said, "and the widest part of the car is the middle. From there on, you can tuck it in and bring the apparent size down."

Tags: S197 Mustang (2005 )

Posted in: 2010, Chevrolet, Ford, Camaro, Mustang

By mauri reeder #1, Posted: 6/3/2008

I hope it's lighter too.
By Francis #2, Posted: 6/3/2008

Why would I want it to appear smaller and be the same size? If anything, I want it to appear bigger (more muscular) but actually be smaller and lighter (nimbler,faster, more efficient).
By CobraMatt #3, Posted: 6/4/2008

Thinking more about it, Why would you want to come out and tell people you are making it look smaller and also admit it's not going to be. You think Ford would have done the opposite and just let us figure it out on our own.
By chris #4, Posted: 6/4/2008

Because a huge complaint of the latest generation is that it just looks like a huge block--it looks too bulky, even MM&FF said they hope that Ford puts the Mustang "on a diet" (referring to the next generation).
I for one am glad that it will at least appear not to be a cube, even if it's just an illusion.
By Steve #5, Posted: 6/5/2008

Overall I think the 2010 Mustang looks pretty cool. I'll be interested in the kind of horsepower it can crank out once Shelby gets their hands on it.

On a side note, in the most recent issue of DuPont Registry, there was a section on the popularity of "Eleanor," the late 60's model Mustang from the film Gone in Sixty Second. It got me thinking, if the vehicle is so popular, then it might behoove the people at Ford to consider designing an "Eleanor" model Mustang. I'd be interested to see what kind of sales that vehicle would have.
By Steve #6, Posted: 6/5/2008

It's interesting that it is actually leaner by design, because it has a wider stance. It'll be interesting to see how the driver's visibility is affected during bad weather due to the car's panoramic window roof. I think the window roof is a great idea, but I think it might impede the driver during a rain storm.

The doors are a nice touch, let's just hope that it doesn't loose any of its "American Muscle Car" heritage just because it was designed by an Italian.