If you were born in the 1960s, the Mustang of your time would have been the third generation, also known as the Foxbody. Ford developed the Fox platform in 1977 to use in a variety of compact and mid-size models. Among them was the Ford Mustang. There are many things that made the 1978 to 1993 Mustang a unique American sports car, and now TopSpeed has teamed up with Bimble Designs to give you a glimpse of what the Mustang Foxbody would look like if it was a neo-retro-designed model made today.
The New Ford Mustang Foxbody Has A New Approach To Neo-Retro Design
Neo-retro design is a popular trend that started in the late 1990s. Cars like the Ford Thunderbird, MINI Cooper and the Volkswagen New Beetle are some of the first modern-day vehicles that started the trend of reinterpreting the design cues of their 1950s and 1960s forbearers. In the late 2000s, the Ford Mustang, along with the rest of the American muscle car nameplates, adopted the same approach, donning designs reminiscent of their 1960s and 1970s versions.
This interpretation of the Foxbody Mustang is the first neo-retro design, inspired by a late-1970s model, and it does so by taking the already neo-retro S550 Mustang as the basis. You can easily recognize the lower body, especially looking at the side profile of the car, which retains the S550 Mustang’s belt line and wheelbase. Another carry-over is the 19-inch Mustang Mach-1 wheels, wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero tires, measuring 255/40 R19 front and 275/40 R19 rear.
The Foxbody Rendering Gets The Shelby Treatment
The basis for the rendering seems to be a Ford Mustang Shelby GT350. The front apron is a mix of the GT350 and the regular Mustang GT pre-facelift model, featuring an enlarged version of the GT’s fog lights. The headlights are a faithful but modern interpretation of the Foxbody pieces, now featuring LED graphics instead of regular halogen bulbs. Another reimagined design element is the Foxbody center grille, which proudly features the Mustang logo.
The side profile reveals a reduced front overhang while the Shelby logo proudly sits on the front fenders. Below the belt line, the car is pretty much an S550 Mustang GT350, but the upper body reveals a fastback roofline with a hatchback tailgate. The rear combines Foxbody taillights with a GT500 rear diffuser featuring quad-tailpipes. The carbon-fiber rear wing is also a modern interpretation of the Foxbody Cobra R piece. It would not be a proper Muscle car without stripes, which is why the digital designer has added a single, matt-black racing stripe across the Grabber Lime exterior body.
Proper 5.0 Power For The Foxbody
As this is a digital representation, much is left to the enthusiast’s imagination. One thing that has remained a constant in the Mustang’s legacy since the 1960s is the “5.0”. While early 302 variants technically meant it was 4.9 liters, the Mustang almost always had the iconic V-8 among its engine options. The Foxbody, in particular, was one of the first Mustangs to leave the home soil, and some of its production was even outsourced to Venezuela, in South America.
The Foxbody was also conceived in times of the oil crisis. This meant that even the 5.0 was gutless in most of its versions until the SVT Cobra R appeared in 1993. This digital reincarnation clearly isn’t meant to be gutless, and if the badging is anything to go by, we can expect, at least, a 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 with 460 horsepower and 420 pound-feet (569 Nm). The lack of air extractors on the hood excludes the 5.2-liter, supercharged Predator V-8. Let’s imagine, for enthusiasts’ sake, that whatever engine powers this is mated to a six-speed manual.
Why The Foxbody Makes Sense Today
The Ford Mustang, as we know it today, is one of the last bastions of non-electrified Muscle cars. It is also the only one of the three big names that will continue to live on for at least another generation. The 2024, S650 Mustang sits on the same chassis as its predecessor, while information suggests that the next generation of the Pony car would adopt the same platform for hybrid versions of the existing powertrains.
With regards to the body style, there is no indication that Ford would make drastic changes to the Pony car’s design for the next generation. But if it does, a hatchback version like the Foxbody would make sense. In an age where SUVs provide near-supercar performance and unparalleled practicality, having a more practical version of the iconic Ford Mustang might just be what prolongs the model’s lifespan as a more traditional offering.
Moreover, it would be an occasion for bringing back some of the old, iconic versions. The 2.3-liter EcoBoost with a performance package would be ideal for a modern-day Foxbody SVO. A bunch of performance versions of the Foxbody featured a 2.3-liter, turbocharged Pinto engine back in the day, some of which gave the 5.0 a run for its money. Regardless, a neo-retro Mustang, inspired by the Foxbody, would be an interesting take on the Pony car. The third-generation Ford Mustang certainly has its fans, and in times of electrification, a fresh dose of nostalgia may be just what American car enthusiasts need.