I was looking to possibly get the Pony grille for my 2014 V6 premium.
Looking online, I found two part numbers, both appear to be identical, but with an almost $500 price difference, I am not so sure. Anyone have any idea what the difference is between those two grilles?

DR3Z-8200-AC Factorry installed Pony Grille $760
DR3Z-8200-AD Ford Accessories Pony Grille $295

 

They should be the same thing.

Ford part numbers use the first four characters to designate the model and year of a part along with the source division:
D = 2013
R3 = Mustang
Z = service part

The middle section can be anywhere from four to seven characters that indicate the type of part and location:
8200 = grille (the leading 8 makes it related to engine cooling)

The last part may consist of one to three letters. They indicate revisions of a part starting with A for the first release, going through Z and then on to AA, AB, etc. for subsequent releases. Generally speaking, a later release of a part will be interchangeable but not necessarily vice versa (i.e. you can use a -C part to replace a -A part but you might not be able to use a -A part to replace a -C part). When there are three letters at the end, they indicate both revision level and color for parts that come in different colors (interior trim, etc.).

So in this case, the -AD is a later revision of the -AC part that was listed in the parts manual. I would guess that the revision actually means nothing more than repackaging as an accessory item rather than an OEM replacement part but it could also mean that they get it from a different supplier. But neither reason would make the parts fit or look any different.

 

I figured it might have something to do with OEM replacement vs. Accessory, but could not for the life of me figure out why there was $465 difference between the two. My guess now is that they might be from different suppliers.
Thank you for the information.