Turbo302

Was looking at pics of a friends new S550 GT Vert and thought the car looked great with the top up. Had very cool lines and made me think "notchback".

It made we wonder, wouldn't it be cool if Ford offered a S550 in Coupe (Notchback), Fastback, and Convertible?

I know it's probably not in Fords interest, as they like spending as little on tooling and different parts, but part of the coolness of early Mustangs is how many different combinations a car could be configured in. Could have a big engined notchback GT if desired.

What's others opinion....Discuss...

TripleBlack14

I posted a thread awhile back about the same thing using an S197 convertible as an example...mine actually.

I agree with you....If you squint hard at a side profile of either an S550 or S197 you can get a good idea how a notchback/true coupe would look. It helps if the car is black so the roof doesn't throw you off.

And a notchback would probably be lighter which would make the racers among us very happy.

SD CALSPCL

I can see market for the Highway Patrol units again Lighter, faster, and much better looking then the Taurus or Explorer. Come on Ford, have some fun!

m05fastbackGT

As much as I'd like to see a return to the notchback coupes, I just don't see this as becoming a reality, not only due to saving costs on tooling but practically every coupe design has some form of a sloping greenhouse mainly for aerodynamics and fuel economy.. Just my $.02

15BluStang

So you want to bring the Mustang back to the days it was known as a "Secretary's" car, not a performance sports car.

TripleBlack14

That's kind of a disingenuous statement. No one suggested any such thing. The coupe is as much a part of Mustang performance history as any other body style. Carroll Shelby first used several coupes as test mules in '65 when he was developing the GT350, not to mention using them on the Terlingua racing team. Coupes fared quite well in SCCA events, and many drag racers preferred them over fastbacks due to the weight advantage.

We're merely suggesting that another variation of the Mustang might prove interesting. It could only help sales if Ford saw fit to go that route.

15BluStang

But is it the fastback where the Mustang started getting it's performance reputation. It is just my opinion, but I think the notchback would be a slow seller. The market is just not there anymore. Coupes just do not sell in large numbers like they did in the 60's and 70's. If there was a market and a profit, Ford would have a notchback version and highly promote it.

m05fastbackGT

That isn't necessarily accurate, as the Fox body Mustangs sold quite well in all 3 body styles including the notchbacks thru the early 90's..

I'm sure your also quite aware there were no fastback models during the entire Fox body generation and also throughout the SN-95 generation that followed as well, but yet the GT, Cobra along with the 03-04 Mach 1 models were well known for their performance reputations and outsold both the Camaro and Trans-Am's during that period..

I do agree however there really hasn't been a market for notchback coupes since the Fox body era ended back in 1993, but on the other hand the convertible models at least from an appearance point of view may be considered as a modern version of what a notchback coupe would look like in today's market

grrr428

Most cars today are fastbacks, including 4 doors, some are even called coupes....oddly. But convertibles and retractables are essentially "formal roof" notchbacks.

It would be interesting to see a retractable Mustang, or more likely a Lincoln if they ever do!