Topnotch

has some decent sketches and info (nothing new)...check it out on newsstands
http://seansmithdesigns.com/blog/?p=1093

Patio218

I like what I see in the red one. Is it just me or are we starting to see some similar design themes being repeated in a lot of these renderings?

stangfoeva

I like both of those

codeman94

nice find! can't wait!

Twin Turbo

Interesting

slidejob

Looks like I'm buying a MY13/14.

VTXFrank

That Global Concept car looks like what would happen if crap could take a crap.

Mixtures of the Genesis, Camaro and other ugly things. Doesn't matter to me if it's faster than my 2011 GT. I've got to actually like what I drive.

Wolfsburg

Not a fan either but these aren't official renderings, as far as I can tell. I wouldn't jump on a MY 13/14 just yet.

EDIT: Is our Topnotch (Sean) and this Sean Smith guy one and the same?

Patio218

I get the impression that some of you guys won't be happy unless the nextstang is a composite of the 60's models. I'm so ready for something along these lines. Here's to the future. Just curious how do you "retro" guys feel about the sn95 or fox's?

Clino

Most of the "moar retro" crowd had never owned a Mustang before 2005, so they might not know what you're referring to.

908ssp

Here is to the future...I like that. It doesn't have to look like its dragged from the history books to be a Mustang and if it does then here rests the last Mustang. I could have bought a brand Mustang in 1970 why would I buy one today?

Wolfsburg

Okay. "Retro" or not has nothing to do with it. These are just ugly cars and in fact, I would still call these concepts "retro" with the hips, c-scoops, "scowling" front end, etc. Plenty of Mustang cues present, but are just off the mark. I hate the clunky, blocky, heavy look with the Urkel-inspired belt line that some people seem to want to embrace. The Mustang needs to look like the Pony car it is-lean, simple and light on it's feet and not like a big, overwrought, hulking bruiser. I cringe when people call the Mustang a "muscle car" since the term so rarely applies to the Mustang. If I had to choose, the silver concept would be the less objectionable of the two.

The following is purely subjective and I know there will be plenty that will disagree:

I think Mustangs stopped looking really good by '70 and certainly by '73. Plain and simple.

For me the Mustang II is a great example of a Mustang that technically looked like a Mustang with plenty of classic, "retro" cues, but was just "off" aesthetically.

To my eye, Fox bodies have no aesthetically pleasing elements to them at all (about as boxy and '80s generic as you can get) but I think they were the last and most recent example of the true, pure "spirit" of the Mustang. They were light, small, and sported excellent performance for the time with that little 5.0.

SN95s were a great aesthetic improvement at the time, but still were never anything that excited me in that regard. I should say that performance-wise, I respect the SN95s.

When the '05 S197 came around, I was elated that the Mustang once again looked like a Mustang. It was bigger and heavier than I'd like but it looked the best any Mustang had looked since the '70s.

Personally, I really hope the silly overused "retro" term goes away. It either looks like a Mustang or it doesn't. If people insist that "retro" continue to be used, I want the Mustang to be as "retro" as the Porsche 911.

To be sure, these concepts have Mustang elements I like but overall just miss the mark.

Patio218

Not trying to be rude at all....but you just proved my point. Wolfsburg In your opinion the last good looking Mustang prior to the retro 05 was 1970. That's absurd. As far as the high beltline and bulky look. That's just the trend in modern car design as a whole, not just the Mustang. I'll end with this, Porsche doesn't have to evolve its design DNA the way a Mustang does because its a low volume niche market car. The mustang has to appeal to the masses and thus it needs to stay trendy on some levels. Not knocking your opinion just want to present another point of view.

Wolfsburg

I don't think you're being rude at all but I'm not sure how I proved your point. I'd call these concepts "retro" and still think they're lacking.

You may think it's absurd to think the last truly good looking Mustang before the S197 was made in 1970 but I think it's absurd to think otherwise. Really? You think the Mustang IIs look good? The Foxes? I think the '71-'73 whales and the SN95s are "okay" aesthetically but I never felt they were something to jump up and down about. In this case, to each their own...

The point with the 911 is that they've had the same basic aesthetic DNA since the '60s yet people don't call them "retro". Why should the Mustang be treated any differently? It's not "retro". It's "Mustang".

Just because bulky design and high beltlines are supposedly trendy (though I don't necessarily agree that's universally the case) doesn't justify it to my eye.

200mphcobra

Too gaudy, they might as well put some 59 Cadillac fins on it.

Patio218

Guess we have to agree to disagree, but you clearly said the last good looking Mustang was built in 1970.

Topnotch

I dislike the high belt line on the Camaro...look kinda silly riding around with just your head showing...

STANGmole

Shouldn't you have posted a pic of a Camaro driver that was more than 3 feet tall if you wanted to prove your point Topnotch?

In all seriousness, I've seen a couple of convertible Camaros with the top down and it looks ridiculous how the driver's head is barely above the door.

I'm all for a new non-retro Mustang design but I don't want some car that looks like an Asian piece of crap crossed with an athletic shoe.

jsaylor

I don't think that is completely fair. I was a fan long before the S197 came to pass, and I would much prefer a good 'retro' design to a mediocre attempt at a modern take on the formula. I just want a car that looks like a Mustang and which happens to be really, really magnificent.

Personally, I tend to prefer the classics, but the 84-86 SVO was indeed a great looking car IMHO. And to me eyes, the 71 and 72 were much better looking cars than the 70 was, I just never could get on board with what they did to the front end of the car for the 70 model year. On the other hand, I'm not a fan of the SN95 models as a whole and I really don't care for the way the New Edge version of the platform looked at all.

That said, I have generally found a common thread, and something to like (if not love) in every Mustang generation. My only request for the next gen is that it be the best, and best looking, Mustang model ever. IMO that should be the goal, and if they can manage that I don't think we'll see many retro or not arguments whichever path they choose.

Wolfsburg

I'm not arguing? Not sure where the conflict is there...

Pre-1971: Great!

71-73: Eh...

Mustang II: What happened?!

Foxes: Zzzzz....

SN95: Eh...

S197: Great!