We have been tackling the subject of electrification quite a bit lately, as more and more models are adopting some form of electrification, with some becoming fully electric. For better or worse, this also extends to some iconic names like the Ford Mustang. With the latest information, from a Ford engineer, we have good reason to believe that the current, S550 generation of the pony car will be the last non-hybrid model.

The new bit of information comes from a member of the Mustang7g forums, who stumbled upon Pedro Maradei’s LinkedIn post, according to which he was involved in the S650 program, in particular, the "low and high-pressure package analysis", for the 2.3-liter inline-four and 5.0-liter V-8 engines, which as described, in his post, are now part of a hybrid system.

Pedro Maredei has a lot of experience, working on the Mustang, as he was the product development engineer for powertrains, for 10 years. Seeing how both versions of the S650 are listed as a 2023 model year, we can expect an official debut sometime in 2022.

While Ford is yet to confirm that the next Mustang is going to feature hybridization, it seems plausible, given the direction many carmakers are taking. The biggest concern with the Mustang is emissions, which is why the V-8 in the S550 Mustang is losing 10 horsepower and 10 pound-feet (13.6 Nm) for 2022.

In order to be more compliant with emissions regulations (and retrieve lost power), the Ford Mustang may, indeed, rely on hybrid assist, in the future. The extent of hybridization is also under debate, as it may either be a mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or a full hybrid, with the latter two partially sharing the drivetrain of the Mach E. Another wild rumor suggests that after the S650 Mustang, Ford will cease the production of internal combustion-powered sports cars, altogether. Given that they already have the Mustang Mach E, future Mustangs may just be a sleeker version of that.