S650 Ford Mustang: Just Enough & Too Much
S650 Mustang’s design is a Goldilocks-level equilibrium between classic and contemporary. The cabin is another story.
The 2024 Ford Mustang has finally arrived. It’s a big moment, for both the Blue Oval and enthusiasts in general, as it marks what’s almost certainly the last gas-powered version of an American icon. Obviously, that put a lot of the pressure on the engineers and designers involved to get it right. Because the last thing anyone — diehard Chevy fans excluded — wants to see is the Mustang go out with a whimper.
For the record, as someone who’s driven every generation of Mustang, I think the team succeeded — mostly. Just like the spy photos we’ve seen suggested, the sheetmetal is an evolutionary, not revolutionary, design. Meaning even from across a parking lot, the S650 will be immediately recognizable as a Mustang. In my opinion, the outgoing model is sexy enough that the stylists were put in the unenviable position of fixing something that wasn’t broken. So this was the right move.
That said, much has been made about the car’s defined creases, as Ford wanted this generation to have a chiseled physique. And I think the choice works. But while I’ve only seen the new Mustang in pictures, I think the rear hips look a whole lot like the current Camaro’s, which seems weird. From my perspective, the new Pony is best viewed in profile, where gorgeous slope of the roofline is on full display. While I’ll have to wait to see it in person, styling wise, I think Ford achieved a Goldilocks-level equilibrium between classic and contemporary.
I also love the fact that a V8 and a manual transmission — with rev matching! — is still on the menu. And the addition of the drift brake shows just how well Ford knows the Mustang audience. Along with the sure-to-be-decent power bump, that trick piece of kit is likely to get prospective buyers off the fence. The new sequential turn signals are another cool touch, as is the “retro” setting which makes the gauge cluster look like Fox Body’s. All these updates are cool
Where I think Ford dropped the ball, however, is with the cabin — there’s just way, way, too much screen in there. Even worse, there are no longer physical controls to adjust the climate settings. Now, I know EV buyers are button-averse. If the law allowed it? Many would happily steer with a touchscreen. But in a performance car like the Mustang, requiring drivers to take their eyes off the road to do something as simple as turn on the AC is an abomination. At least there’s a volume knob.
The other thing about the screen-heavy setup is that it’ll date cars. Because as good as the tech is today, infotainment is changing so quickly, going this bold basically ensures it’ll look quaint in just a few years. Hell, there’s a decent chance we’re actually at peak screen, and we’ll see a swing back toward physical controls, like Former Apple Chief Designer Sir Jony Ive Ive recently said. Which might saddle the last ICE Mustang with something that’ll age as gracefully as the unit in the Buick Reatta has.
Of course, the news about the new Dark Horse cars is positively wicked. With the Dark Horse S and the Dark Horse R, Ford has produced not one, but two weapons-grade versions of the latest Mustang. Here’s where everything Dearborn learned from models like the Shelby GT500, the GT350 R, and the latest Mach 1 all come together. Both are ready to hit the track, but while the S is designed for weekend warriors, the R is built for the rigor of international competition.
Ford says the Dark Horse cars will be packing the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 in Mustang history. That means it’ll have more than the 526 horsepower the 5.2-liter V8 Voodoo Coyote mill produced, thought exactly how much more is an open question. Right now, the figure does along us to do some speculation around the power figure for the 2024 GT. My gut says we’ll see somewhere around 550 ponies for the Darkhorse, and 500 for the standard V8s model. So the first examples of the next-gen Mustang are sure to go like hell.
Photos: Ford
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