First Look: S650 Mustang Prototype Spied With Production Body! 📸

[amk91]

That's actually not a bad looking car. Too bad Ford killed the Fusion here.



Keep in mind the Fusion had the S550 face before the S550 had it. So, you could kind of say the Mustang "borrowed" from the Fusion. Of course, we all know that particular design language is owed to the old Evos concept.

Of course, the Evos was created mostly based on the Fusion. Part of it, was also a teaser of S550 Mustang, because at the time it was created in late 2010 and 2011, Ford had already designed one of them and the other was coming along enough, to know where it was going.

The CD391 Fusion exterior was designed in record time, parallel to early phases of S550 during 2009 to mid-2010. It was based on early sketching for the S550 program, mixed in with some existing Mondeo cues (2007-14) and Aston Martin influences.

Pencils down on the 2013 Fusion came in December 2010, also when Kemal Curic's S550 proposal out of Cologne, Germany, won approval of executive management. He relocated to USA, where he finished up the rest of the car into 2012.

I believe he now heads Lincoln and helped guide the transformation of the brand. He's that good.

It irks me so much when I hear "Fusion coupe", because the Fusion simply benefited from more inspired product planning and got spicier by partly drawing from Mustang lineage.

The Giugiaro 2006 concept was the origin of so many ideas for Ford in 2000s for the 2010s One Ford theme. They simply married that to Aston Martin elegance and voila.

The 2010 Ford Taurus was designed in 2006-2007, being locked in February 2008. Some also say the S550 looks like a Taurus. Well, you gotta ask yourself what was the intention of designers on D258 II Taurus project in 2006-07?

J Mays and a few others in charge in the late 2000s, were drawing from Ford's core strengths and heritage on past legacy products for the next decade, but with a contemporary edge.

Why?

As the new CEO Alan Mulally had quickly grown tired of the hypocrital, Ford-only rule in staff parking lots, but noticed so many Ford executive and middle management white collar staff in Land Rovers, Jags, Astons, and Volvos instead of Lincolns, Mercurys, Ford brand vehicles.

Driving a 2003ish Lexus LS430, he saw a massively hypocritical loophole exploitation, simply because these were all brands under Premier Auto Group.

Alan Mulally's 2003 Lexus LS 430 in 2008 Photo
He basically told them, to start developing Fords you would "be proud of" and increase fit & finish. This is why from around 2010 to 2015, Ford had a massive leap in how their cars were executed. Especially in terms of in cabin tech and interior quality jumps over their predecessors.

Started with Mulally mostly, whereas the stopgap in-betweener Fords of the mid-late 2000s with "okay interiors", were the product of Bill Ford's tenure as CEO. Before that Ford interiors were very unremarkable, especially with SN95. S197 was "okay", S550 was a massive leap.

It was why in Dearborn by 2011, you saw less Range Rovers and XJ8s, more SVT Raptors GTs/GT500s, and 11+ Explorers. Fords were made to be more livable as daily drivers and make us more proud of American nameplates.

Anyway, back in late 2005, they were almost done designing the 2010 Mustang and it took a very long time to come to market, but other models afterward like the 2010 Taurus had faster development time and more leeway, to follow the influence of the Giugiaro Mustang and other new ideas in the pipeline.

The 2010 Mustang being limited by hard points of the original retro S197 design, drafted in 1999-2001, couldn't really go in that more modern direction yet until S550 started up in 2009 and came to market in 2014.

Ironically Giugiaro had been shown the 2010 already in 2006 and drew from it mostly, but his own new twist on it (headlights), was the future of this nameplate and Ford cars. Thus these cues, first showed up on Taurus D258 II, Focus ST, and Fusion CD391. And maybe some other cars through 2015.

If Ford budgeted for a shorter lifecycle for S197 in the mid-2000s, where after hitting the ground in October 2004, saw a much lighter midlife update (a la 2018 S550) in late 2007 or spring 2008, S550 in late 2011/12, I can guarantee you that the 2013 Fusion wouldn't take that mantle as "first" in anything.

Having a shorter cycle, allowed the Fusion to beat S550 to market with the same look. The idea and vision for 6th generation Mustang, was leave retro behind or at least dilute it, since 2006. Just took another 8 years to come to market.

Side note: People call the S650 just a refresh, but don't even know that the 2008-09 Ford Taurus and 2010-19 Taurus are the same exact car, both called the internal chassis code D258. Yet, very hard to see it all from the outside.

Edited: for typos

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[Twin Turbo]

And the same might happen now. New Evos & Mondeo have now been shown and IF S650 shares some design details (its bound to) we'll once again hear the "it looks like a Fusion/Mondeo coupe" just as S550 was derided as a Fusion coupe. If S650 had debuted back as a '21 like it was originally supposed to, it would have launched this new styling direction instead of seemingly copying it

 

[Mike Pfeifer]

Hey, with new Crease Lines, maybe we'll see a Two-Tone Version with Black Upper around the Windows!

(Today's Vinyl Top)

this is what I was thinking as well.

 

[2morrow]

Not crazy about the negative surface below the hop up feature.Hope they don't go this route but i'm sure they will.

I love the muscular side profile of this car but the fussiness of the hop up can also be found on several other cars.

 

[Schwerin]

Started with Mulally mostly, whereas the stopgap in-betweener Fords of the mid-late 2000s with "okay interiors", were the product of Bill Ford's tenure as CEO. Before that Ford interiors were very unremarkable, especially with SN95. S197 was "okay", S550 was a massive leap.

You had me till there, the S197 interior I found the be the key reason I didn't trade my 2003 Mach1 for one. I UTTERLY hated that interior and found it bland, generic, and boring AF. To me in comparison the SN95 felt more spacious and creative. It's the ONLY reason despite me still really wanting a BOSS I just never managed to drop the $$ for one. I cringe when I get inside. The build quality of it may have been better, but I REALLY hated that design and find it one of the worst to look at.

 

[Elvis67]

Is the tuner A-pillar gauge pod for testing or will it be an Ecoboost production feature? One has to wonder.

Hopefully not the new sound tube, delete that sucker for sure.

 

[amk91]

And the same might happen now. New Evos & Mondeo have now been shown and IF S650 shares some design details (its bound to) we'll once again hear the "it looks like a Fusion/Mondeo coupe" just as S550 was derided as a Fusion coupe. If S650 had debuted back as a '21 like it was originally supposed to, it would have launched this new styling direction instead of seemingly copying it

Exactly, I do wonder where the S650 left on CD6? CD6 Stang was in development from around Q4 2015 and styling people got on the effort in 2016.

Allegedly by May 2017, they were still in the motions of whittling it out, with the idea they'd have a final choice by December 2017 or thereabouts. Then dial it by mid-2018, for launch in late 2020/early 2021.

It was Hackett who put an end to that and immediately rebooted S650 as a heavily redone S550 in May 2017, under Mike Celentino (he left Ford in 2020).

My cousin told me Ford does this cost cutting effort sometimes and had done it to Jaguar twice in England, in early Ford ownership days. They canceled an all new mid-90s Jaguar coupe and luxury sedan (XJ6) in the early 90s, instead changing both £ billion projects both of these into these.

All on the same platform, but clearly NOT just refreshes. Ford is more than familar enough.

I updated my last post, to reflect how the Taurus of 2007-09 and 2009-19, were the exact same chassis code, but totally different looking cars!

If these can be that different like those Jags, yet use the same platform and even model code, S650 can almost be anything. The roofline will be obviously similar, but from the commentary I see elsewhere, everyone is already deriding without seeing anything.

I don't think the new Fusion is good idea of the car though. I think Ford deliberately made them diverge this time around.

My point was, I simply believe it to be unfair, how those past Fusion coupe digs were thrown around and some claims, that 2018 "fixed" the "Fusion face".

It was an elegant and cohesive, muscular front end that was carefully thought out 10 years and too many folks stuck on retro or uber cartoonish aggression for the sake of it, were too obsessed with deriding the 2015 at all costs.

Ford overreacted in 2014-15 to this criticism for the MCA, instead of building on that for 2018. The Shelbys kept the original look and now S650, somewhat goes to back to it ever so ironically.

 

[amk91]

You had me till there, the S197 interior I found the be the key reason I didn't trade my 2003 Mach1 for one. I UTTERLY hated that interior and found it bland, generic, and boring AF. To me in comparison the SN95 felt more spacious and creative. It's the ONLY reason despite me still really wanting a BOSS I just never managed to drop the $$ for one. I cringe when I get inside. The build quality of it may have been better, but I REALLY hated that design and find it one of the worst to look at.

I get your point, as "going there" was rather hard for me, as when you look at the press photos from 1993, you can see the effort Ford designers poured into the SN95 DESIGN back in 1989-1990, as it was decent upon release.

Crazy how this photo right here was taken in 1990 and compare it to what was actually out then for the 1990/1991MY. The materials and build quality for this 1990 convertible mockup, were probably out of this world!

But, factoring in production costs per unit and usual business logistics, it always gets watered down and built less to standard than initially idealized on the sketching board.



For the S197 interior, for me it was entirely about the improved build quality and 1960s minimalist theme, which was edgier to me as a teen. In basic form, yeah it was probably very bland. I loved the SN95 interior as a budding young enthusiast in the 90s, but by 2002, it had grown old and dated.

I wanted something like this shown in 2003, which they stayed true to (easy to do, when the S197 was finished in 2001).

It still feels fresh today, unlike the SN95 interior. S550 worked hard to best that more than anything and my hope is that S650 is the holy grail, of ICE Mustang interiors.

 

[shogun32]

Before that Ford interiors were very unremarkable, especially with SN95. S197 was "okay", S550 was a massive leap.

you couldn't PAY me to own a Mustang before S550 they looked so incredibly bad inside and out.

What I don't understand is artist/designer's uncontrolled fascination with HUGE slab-sided vehicles with slit windows and greenhouse. QUIT IT ALREADY!! If you want to design bars of soap, go work for Procter and Gamble. Lower the gad damn belt line and put a healthy green house on top. Do "you people" never learn from history, esp the Camaro?

 

[amk91]

Reveal this year? Maybe at NYAS?

One only hopes! With Omnicron, I don't know!

 

[93-Oct Mayne]

If Ford F's this front end up, there's always Roush or an iKon knockoff of whatever variants come out

Edit: I say that to say that I'm more concerned with other improvements, like engine offerings and interior updates. I feel like there will be at least one major performance update to give it some buzz

 

[GT Premi]

... S197 was "okay", S550 was a massive leap.

...

Excellent response, except for that part. The S550 was definitely not a massive leap. It's more fussy, yes. A massive leap? Nah.

You had me till there, the S197 interior I found the be the key reason I didn't trade my 2003 Mach1 for one. I UTTERLY hated that interior and found it bland, generic, and boring AF. To me in comparison the SN95 felt more spacious and creative. It's the ONLY reason despite me still really wanting a BOSS I just never managed to drop the $$ for one. I cringe when I get inside. The build quality of it may have been better, but I REALLY hated that design and find it one of the worst to look at.

I thought you were gonna go a different way. I've owned an SN95 (New Edge), S197 and S550. The SN95 is by far the worst interior. It's an ergonomic nightmare inside; awkwardly slanted seat backs, oddly placed shifter, unusable door bins, etc. And don't get me started on materials quality. You literally couldn't GIVE me one of those cars now, '03/'04 Cobra included. (Well... I would take a '96 - '98 Cobra. That one was the best looking of the SN95 era.) The S197 wasn't bad at all with the Interior Upgrade Package. A base interior was ghastly, though. When I go from my '11 GT500 to my '17 GT350R, I don't feel like I'm "stepping up" with the interior, and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. In fact, I actually prefer my GT500's interior over the R's. Full disclosure, I'm not a fan of the S550, in general. It's too bulbous looking and seems like the front doesn't match the rear. The GT350s make it look more cohesive by ditching the bloated front clip. The GT PP2 and Mach 1 aren't bad, though.

 

[Schwerin]

Excellent response, except for that part. The S550 was definitely not a massive leap. It's more fussy, yes. A massive leap? Nah.



I thought you were gonna go a different way. I've owned an SN95 (New Edge), S197 and S550. The SN95 is by far the worst interior. It's an ergonomic nightmare inside; awkwardly slanted seat backs, oddly placed shifter, unusable door bins, etc. And don't get me started on materials quality. You literally couldn't GIVE me one of those cars now, '03/'04 Cobra included. (Well... I would take a '96 - '98 Cobra. That one was the best looking of the SN95 era.) The S197 wasn't bad at all with the Interior Upgrade Package. A base interior was ghastly, though. When I go from my '11 GT500 to my '17 GT350R, I don't feel like I'm "stepping up" with the interior, and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. In fact, I actually prefer my GT500's interior over the R's. Full disclosure, I'm not a fan of the S550, in general. It's too bulbous looking and seems like the front doesn't match the rear. The GT350s make it look more cohesive by ditching the bloated front clip. The GT PP2 and Mach 1 aren't bad, though.

I found the shifter position in my old Mach1 much nicer than the one in my current Bullitt. I also have never used a door bin in my life. I have NO idea why they even still exist. The only reason I've ever seen to use them is to hold maps, but who cares a map anymore?

 

[DeluxeStang]

Not crazy about the negative surface below the hop up feature.Hope they don't go this route but i'm sure they will.

I love the muscular side profile of this car but the fussiness of the hop up can also be found on several other cars.

I don't know man, negative surfaces are a pretty good way to add surface tension. I quite like it. I'd imagine if the s650 had that type of surfacing, it would look considerably more muscular than han what we see on the mondeo, which would make it look more attractive.

 

[DeluxeStang]

If Ford F's this front end up, there's always Roush or an iKon knockoff of whatever variants come out

Edit: I say that to say that I'm more concerned with other improvements, like engine offerings and interior updates. I feel like there will be at least one major performance update to give it some buzz

As long as the proportions are good, and the general shape is nice, that's what matters. As you mentioned, aftermarket kits will be offered for the front and rear bumpers. So if people don't like how the factory bumpers look, it's not the end of the world.

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