Since its inception midway through the 1964 model year, the “original” pony car, the Ford Mustang, has remained an America-only model. The last Ford overseas we recall seeing was the four-cylinder 1967 ‘Stang from Tokyo Drift, and we almost cried at the sight of that monstrosity of racer meets muscle. There are now rumors floating around – mostly sparked by our friends at Popular Hot Rodding – that theMustang is heading overseas.
We are all well aware of the fact that the Mustang is being redesigned for the 2015 model year. Apparently, a part of the releasing of the Mustang in Europe is that this redesign is turning the beloved Mustang into a car that meets the European Union pedestrian safety regulations. According to Popular Hot Rodding, this means that a redesign rivaling the Mustang II may be afoot, which is being dubbed the “Mustang III.”
This is a scary moment for Ford and it really needs to tread carefully, as the Mustang II nearly killed off the Mustang name altogether. It was to a point that the Ford Probe – yeah, remember that thing – was slated to be the replacement for the Mustang. Fortunately, the Mustang pulled through and is now thriving as a muscle car again.
This Euro-inspired redesign comes on the heels of the U.S. government raising the average fuel economy requirements to an astronomical 56.2 mpg by 2025. This doesn’t mean that the Mustang needs to hit 56 mpg, but that the average of all Ford vehicles sold must be at least 56.2 mpg by 2025. This also puts the V-8 Mustangs that Ford has worked so hard on lately on the chopping block during this redesign.
Could this mean the return of a turbocharged four-cylinder to the Mustang lineup, or maybe even a transplantation of the EcoBoost 3.5-liter V-6 engine from the Taurus to the Mustang? It very well could, and that could spell disaster for the Mustang. Ford definitely needs to tread carefully with this redesign, or we could end up with the Mustang II all over again.
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