http://rumors.automobilemag.com/spie...in-146139.html

 

 

agreed...but i'm thinking ford is going after Euro/Audi look in the next gen.. pitty

 

First signs of an IRS...The bolt on the rear wheel hub and the differential!!!

See: http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-blog/?p=11329

See the size of those front brakes!....and the REAR calipers are reversed from current

also the chassis sits lower than the current....see the frame goes lower than the rocker panels can cover.

 

http://rumors.automobilemag.com/spie...in-146139.html







Is this the next-gen 2015 Ford Mustang? Not in its complete, finished form, it isn’t – but our spy photographer believes this is an early test mule, designed to allow engineers to evaluate and validate the new Mustang’s mechanical bits before its bodywork is finalized.

How so? The bodywork is certainly one clue. Though it looks like a standard 2013 Mustang GT, the mile-wide panel gaps, missing roof channel fillers (and, our photographer suggests, wider roof seam channels, to boot), odd cover over the fuel filler, and mutilated rear diffuser all suggest this car’s skin is merely a temporary wrapper.

What’s beneath the surface? That remains a little more mystery. It’s widely believed the 2015 Ford Mustang will be the first to receive an independent rear suspension – something that was once planned for the current-generation car, but deemed too expensive by executives then in charge. Motor Trend suggests this new suspension setup may be an evolution of the so-called Control Blade trailing-arm setup employed on many cars across Ford’s global lineup, and perhaps most similar to that used in the rear-wheel-drive Falcon sold in Australia.

What’s underhood? The 5.0-liter badges may not be a ploy to throw us off, as we’ve heard the so-called Coyote V-8 will continue to serve in high-performance Mustangs going forward. There’s a chance that engine could receive direct fuel injection going forward, but the bigger news lies with smaller offerings. Reports and rumors regarding the future of the V-6 are conflicted: some say it’s dead in the water, while others suggest the present 3.7-liter V-6 will soldier on. Certainly, the 2015 Ford Mustang will be one of the first in decades to offer a four-cylinder offer. Either a 2.3- or a 2.5-liter turbocharged EcoBoost I-4 is expected to join the lineup, but its status is still unknown. Some say the turbo-four will function as a new base engine, while others suggest it will instead be an option, perhaps as part of a new SVO-like package.

What’s for certain is that the 2015 Ford Mustang’s exterior will turn a new page – not only for the model line itself, but for Ford altogether. In an interview with Automobile earlier this year, Hau Thai-Thang – Ford’s vice president of global product development — confirmed the next-generation Mustang will adopt Ford’s Kinetic 2.0 styling language, which was previewed with the Evos concept and used to shape the new 2013 Fusion sedan.

Does that mean it will ditch all its traditional retro-ish Mustang cues in favor of Ford’s latest look? Hardly. “We don’t think the two [looks] are mutually exclusive,” he said. Thai-Tang instead suggested the new Mustang’s new sheetmetal will “move the Mustang forward” while adopting Ford’s new “family look” – something the present car admittedly lacks.

Though details surrounding the 2015 Ford Mustang are still somewhat shrouded in secrecy, don’t expect that mystery to last all that much longer. The very first Mustang officially launched at the 1964 New York Auto Show, and it’s widely believed the new 2015 Mustang will be rolled out in front of press and public alike at the 2014 New York Auto Show – just in time to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

 

That is some serious rear negative camber...

 

Wow, that backs up pretty much everything I've read or intuited about the stillborn 2005 IRS over the years, except that I thought it would be either a Control Blade design or a DEW IRS rendered in cheaper (stamped steel) materials. That the IRS system was actually lighter than the Conestoga axle, never mind the immense unsprung weight advantage, just rubs salt in the wound and it is obviously a very stout piece of engineering. Given what Ford chassis engineers have been able to wring out of the neolithic axle now in the Mustang, imagine what they could have done with an actual 21st century design!

It will be interesting if this basic design does see the light of day in the 2015, presuming the next Stang is indeed developed from the current chassis. Also, wouldn't it be interesting were an aftermarket company, or even Ford itself, to manufacture this IRS for the current Stang, especially given that it is a bolt in design.

 

I see no over axle piping at the back of the muffler on that second picture, the piping looks like it turn in towards the center. This is evident in the last picture and it also looks like spring cup hanging low from a control arm.

 

I think they mean the new look for the ford family of cars, and not a family car look. More like the new front end style thats showing up on the new models. I hope.

 

There is very clear negative camber on the rear, and the rear track looks at least 2" wider. Those are the front 19x9 Boss wheels, not the 19x10s and look at far they're pushed to the edges of the fenders!

 

Ah, so it begins?

Any ideas regarding why the gas door cover is camoed too?

 

Electric outlet for charging??

 

Gas cap?

My guess........if this mule is running IRS, it's possibly running a different exhaust and fuel tank configuration too, necessitating a revised location for the filler cap and associated piping.

Or its part of the Flux Capacitor option

 

Positively an IRS...The bolt on the rear wheel hub and the differential!!!

See the size of those front brakes!....and the REAR calipers are reversed from current side



also the chassis sits lower than the current....see the frame goes lower than the rocker panels can cover.

 

No way tthis is the 2015 IMO.. The car looks like the 2013 in every way.

 

Well of course it looks like a 2013. It's a test mule...

 

They mean a mule underneath for testing parts for the 2015.

I mean they could be testing one type of part in the car, even if the rest of the car is pre-15.

 

BTW, I'm excited about the new IRS setup. Hopefully it's a good one! I wonder if they'll stick with the McPherson strut up front or if we'll see a double wishbone.

 

Looks like the wheelbase will stay around 107"

BTW the 64-70 WB was 108" ....so it can be visually tauter
and the EVOS Concept is 108"
and the Aston Martin Virage is 108"

 

I'm hopeful that the finished machine shrinks a bit overall. I liked the size of the SN95.