No, I didn’t catch Ford doing some very last-minute testing in my neck of the woods today. I caught Ford doing some semi-last-minute testing nearly four months ago. Why is this article coming out so late then? Simple: Photos take time, and life got severely in the way.
Regardless, with the imminent release of Ford’s hotshot pony car in mind, this article is going to be shorter than I would’ve preferred. In other words, we’re going to talk briefly about what I saw (and what can be seen in the photos), and then I’m going to link some articles/outlets near the bottom that have great information about the rapidly approaching ‘Stang. Let’s begin.
What I Saw:
With all the cladding, padding, and patterns on the car, it’s obvious I didn’t see that much. At least not more than other spy photographers and outlets have seen. We’ve got the weird Mustang II-like circular quarter window hole on the padding that we’ve all seen before, the even weirder triangular shape just behind the driver/passenger doors, and the heavily padded roof.
Therefore, the two most prominent things about this photo –to me– are the grille visibility and the wheel design.
If you’ve been paying any attention to the internet for at least the last two months, then you’ve probably seen renderings and perhaps even a leak of what the next Mustang is claimed to look like. If not, below are some examples.
https://fordauthority.com/2022/04/new-leak-shows-2024-ford-mustang-front-fascia-uncovered/
Back on point, I’m not completely sure it will look like the leaked document in the first link. I can sort of see it for the side vents (both in the Ford Authority article and in my own photo) but I’m not sold on the main grille. Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way saying it’s impossible for the grille to be that big, it just doesn’t seem to match up with the padding we’ve seen on all the development cars. Of course, that’s the point of padding and patterns on development cars: To obscure the fine details so consumers and competitors alike are left guessing what their favorite brand/rival has come up with. Even still, the padding makes it look like this new Mustang will have a grille split similar to the one on the 2012-2014 Dodge Charger SRT-8.
Seeing as there have been many leaks showcasing the same big grille front end though, it might be safe to say the new Mustang (in what I’m imagining is 5.0 GT guise) will have that new imposing front fascia.
Moving onto the wheels, the set featured above looks like the set you could get on the Performance Pack 2 S550 Mustang this car succeeds. Does that mean the Performance Pack(s) will return for the 2024 Mustang? I personally haven’t heard so, but it’s possible. If anyone is more up-to-date on the ’24 Mustang than I am, let me know in the comments if there’s been any news/rumors of the Performance Pack(s) returning.
As you can see in this photo, the wheels are drastically different from the ones we saw before. Eagle-eyed Mustang fans will immediately recognize these wheels as being the same or similar to the ones first shown on the pre-facelift S550 GT. This gives me even more reason to believe the other Mustang prototype is of a sportier trim level (or package). Beyond that, nothing else appears to differ.
At this point, some of you are probably hoping for some insight into how the new Mustang sounds. Sorry to disappoint, but I’ve got nothing. It’s not that I wasn’t around to hear the Mustang prototype, it’s that the test driver pulled away so gently there was nothing to hear. Luckily for all of us though, the Ford Performance account on Instagram just released this reel!
For information about what the next-gen Mustang is supposed to have, check out the link below.
https://fordauthority.com/?s=2024+ford+mustang
Thanks for reading! Below is a gallery of all the photos I caught of this 2024 Ford Mustang prototype doing some high-altitude testing. Let me know what you think of the upcoming Ford Mustang!
