Evolution of a Modern Muscle Car: 2015 Ford Mustang

2015 ford mustang

The 2015 Mustang is a big deal. This model year celebrated the 50th anniversary of Ford’s iconic pony car. Right now Mustangs are filling dealer’s lots and ready to stampede onto the pavement. This past year has been chock full of Mustang happenings and now is the time to look back and see just how far the fresh new pony car has come.

Ford did a massive simultaneous unveiling around the world on December 5, 2013. The 2015 Mustang was unveiled in Shanghai, China, Sydney, Australia, Barcelona, Spain, and Los Angeles, California. This worldwide simultaneous launch signified that the new Mustang is ready for world domination. Ford also premiered their legendary pony on Good Morning America. The 2015 Mustang was designed to be a world car from the get go.

The 2015 Mustang made it’s auto show debut at the 2014 Detroit International Auto Show. Seen here in triple yellow it screams to be taken to triple digits and most likely triple digit speeding tickets. Easily the most talked about car at the show, the Mustang announced in it’s hometown Motown that it was here and ready to steal the spotlight.

Ford and Revell teamed up to give away 1:25 scale models of the car at the show so showgoers could take home their very own ponycar at the Detroit International Auto Show. The initial runs of toy cars were labeled “Auto Show Editions”. It was a very successful promotion, with Ford eventually running out of the plastic cars by the end of the show.

Speaking of spotlights, the 2015 Mustang made it’s cinematic debut at the end of the Need for Speed movie. Aside from what you thought about the quality or cheese factor of the movie itself, it can be argued that the Mustang looked incredible on the big screen. The strongest part of the movie wasn’t the acting or the actors themselves it was the car. Although most of the focus in the film was on the custom Shelby Mustang the 2015 still demanded attention and easily stole the attention from the Shelby, especially being that it was strategically placed at the end of the movie to stay fresh in the audiences’ minds.

Ford celebrated the Mustang’s big 5-0 this past April at Charlotte Motor Speedway and had a huge Mustang gathering and events for all. There was also a gathering at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Not wanting to settle for just a few celebrations, Ford decided to aim for the sky by placing a 2015 Mustang on top of the Empire State Building during April’s New York International Auto Show to celebrate the Mustang’s 50th birthday. The event recreated history, as it was a tribute to a Mustang being placed on top of the Empire State Building back in 1965. I was able to attend the historical event but unfortunately the observation deck where the car was assembled was so crowded I had to recall the event and create a piece of artistic expression to convey the experience.

The Mustang 50th Anniversary model also debuted at the New York International Auto Show. One of the most interesting styling features of the anniversary model is the rear louvered glass windows which take a classic styling cue and bring them into 2015. Fun fact: to produce the layered rear window louvers there had to be a new process only used for these windows, which retain the see-through glass but also have the throwback slats for a nice stylistic touch.

 After all of the glitz and glamour surrounding the new 2015 Mustang’s 50th anniversary it all comes down to the car itself, not the hype. Ford has managed to make a thoroughly modern ponycar, one that finally has modern independent rear suspension on it’s hindquarters. With three engine choices, a V6, the Coyote 5.0 V8, and the EcoBoost 4 cylinder there are many options for how you get ponies from your, um....pony. The EcoBoost is surely the most controversial powerplant of the three, but Ford is expecting it to be the volume model. Of course with the V8 you will have a racehorse but the other two are not one-trick ponies.

The icing on the exciting 2014 cake for the Mustang is the new GT350 that debuted at this year’s LA Auto Show. The long-awaited top dog, um, horse of the Mustang line up is ready for primetime and to carry the Shelby name into the new generation of ponycars. With at least 500 horsepower, a trick Magnaride suspension and a first for Ford production flat-crank V8 engine the new GT350 is sure to be a hoot to drive.

Not content with just placing a Mustang on top of the Empire State Building, Ford placed a Mustang atop the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai this November. In the same fashion done at the Empire State Building, the Mustang was six different pieces that were loaded onto an elevator and carried to the observation deck of the building, then assembled. The Mustang is literally ending 2015 on top of the World.

After all of the glitz and glamour surrounding the new 2015 Mustang’s 50th anniversary it all comes down to the car itself, not the hype. Ford has managed to make a thoroughly modern ponycar, one that finally has modern independent rear suspension on it’s hindquarters. With three engine choices, a V6, the Coyote 5.0 V8, and the EcoBoost 4 cylinder there are many options for how you get ponies from your, um....pony. The EcoBoost is surely the most controversial powerplant of the three, but Ford is expecting it to be the volume model. Of course with the V8 you will have a racehorse but the other two are not one-trick ponies.