Report: Mustang AWD and Hybrid Plans Cancelled

[Vickstang]

According to Automotive News, which cites three people close to the matter....

https://carbuzz.com/news/insiders-claim-hybrid-and-awd-mustang-plans-have-been-scrapped

Insiders Claim Hybrid And AWD Mustang Plans Have Been Scrapped

The rumored models seem to have been just that.

August 30, 2022

Muscle car and Blue Oval fans alike are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the all-new Ford Mustang, which will be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show. Little is known about the seventh generation Mustang, except that it will be made available with a manual transmission and reportedly debut with the existing V8 and four-pot engines - the V8 appearing to be confirmed in Ford's latest teaser.

At the time, we assumed Ford would press the tried and tested powertrains into duty until the planned hybrid engines were ready. But it seems the hybrid Mustang is no longer on the table. This is according to Automotive News, which cites three people close to the matter.

Initially slated for a mid-decade introduction, Ford has reportedly scrapped the electrified variant, but the reason is unknown. Currently, there's no word on whether the hybrid will make a return towards the end of the decade. This will be great news to traditionalists, who love the Mustang for its unassisted V8.

But that's not the only new feature to be scrapped. The rumored AWD Mustang has also been killed, according to the company insiders. With the current generation Charger and Challenger on life support, there will soon be no all-wheel drive options in the muscle car class.

Again, this should come as a relief to purists. After all, the Mustang has always been an affordable way to get behind the wheel of a V8-powered vehicle with a penchant for doing burnouts. All-wheel drive would bring more grip and tractability but also add an air of civility at odds with the iconic muscle car's image.

However, there is some bad news. With Ford extending its product lifecycle from six to eight years, the S650 may be the very last ICE-powered Mustang. The Dearborn-based company has launched an all-electric assault on the industry in recent months, and it was only a matter of time before the brand's most admired car went down the battery power route.

Earlier reports suggest the all-electric Mustang will enter production in 2028, which gives enthusiasts some time to savor the ICE experience. But by then, Dodge's all-electric Challenger will have been on the scene for several years. The upside as far as Ford is concerned is that it will be clear to see whether there is, in fact, a market for battery-powered muscle cars.

Automotive analyst Karl Brauer said Ford's customer base may reward the company's slow pivot toward electric Mustangs. "If there's a stream of those coming, that's as much, if not more effective for sales of that vehicle than any new, innovative technology. The Mustang buyer base will reward a more traditional approach and less 'evolution' than the average new vehicle."

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[airjonny]

AWD would’ve been nice up here in the Midwest but not sad over it. Unless it bought the V8 a few more years, it’s probably better just to go forward going all EV when their hand is forced.

 

[Ace]

Ford Europe is selling only Hybrids from 2025 onwards. Since the new Mustang is coming to Europe too and this time they finally developed the car for multiple markets from the ground up, I doubt they scrapped the Hybrid for the Mustang. It just won't be released at launch, but maybe a refresh

 

[flarecz]

This may mean we don't get S650 in Europe till the hybrid is ready ...

 

[Twin Turbo]

Ford Europe is selling only Hybrids from 2025 onwards. Since the new Mustang is coming to Europe too and this time they finally developed the car for multiple markets from the ground up, I doubt they scrapped the Hybrid for the Mustang. It just won't be released at launch, but maybe a refresh

Yeah, I'd be surprised if they've cancelled it completely. If they have, S650 will have a very limited life outside the US.

 

[MikeyV]

Makes perfect sense.
Same reason the S650 is basically only a mild sheet metal/interior refresh of the current car.

If they're going all electric only in 2027/28 - then why spend the money. It's completely unjustifiable.

 

[Ace]

This may mean we don't get S650 in Europe till the hybrid is ready ...

Nah, it's not just a european model, but an export model for Australia, NZ, Japan, etc. A few years ago I was told by the Mustang lead for europe that the gen 7 was build with export markets in mind, compared to Gen 6 who was already finished and then thought about bringing the cars to more markets which is why a lot of stuff is was missing on export models. It's about very detailled stuff like how far the space between each rear light is to be counted as one unit to allow sequential turn signals.

It soundse more likely that they would stop selling the Mustang in europe in 2025/26 if they really cut the Hybrid, and pause until Gen 8. But not selling the Mustang V8 for the next 3 years even though they could would be really dumb.

 

[9secondko]

The idea that Mustang owners would rather do donuts rather than actually WIN races due to AWD is way off course.

we want the best performance we can get. Current Mid engine and AWD cars with less power spanking the Mustang - even GT500 - due to traction just plain sucks.

AWD might not be part of the initial s650 offerings for the same reason “all new” is a lie - cheapness.

but the Mustang won’t be able to compete without it for very long. It’s going to be a necessity, especially when it goes electric/hybrid. Otherwise the most basic grocery getter will stomp the legendary Ford Mustang into the ground unceremoniously.
and that’s as anti-Mustang as it gets.

the initial ideas of hybrid were floating around during development of the gt500 as it was to be the first candidate. So it makes sense that the “hybrid was cancelled.” THAT version. It doesn’t mean a new design isn’t being pursued.

I imagine Ford is reading the market, not willing to take risks or be a first. They will see what others do and weigh what works and what doesn’t.

in order to be a true performance leader in a world soon dominated by EV AWD vehicles, the Mustang will HAVE to have AWD. Whether that is hybrid or full EV, we will find out in a few years.

right now, Ford has the challenge of selling gas powered, RWD s650s to focus on in the immediate future. Might as well dispel the notion that buyers should wait for something better down the road.

sales management.

 

[because_murica]

The idea that Mustang owners would rather do donuts rather than actually WIN races due to AWD is way off course.

we want the best performance we can get. Current Mid engine and AWD cars with less power spanking the Mustang - even GT500 - due to traction just plain sucks.

AWD might not be part of the initial s650 offerings for the same reason “all new” is a lie - cheapness.

but the Mustang won’t be able to compete without it for very long. It’s going to be a necessity, especially when it goes electric/hybrid. Otherwise the most basic grocery getter will stomp the legendary Ford Mustang into the ground unceremoniously.
and that’s as anti-Mustang as it gets.

the initial ideas of hybrid were floating around during development of the gt500 as it was to be the first candidate. So it makes sense that the “hybrid was cancelled.” THAT version. It doesn’t mean a new design isn’t being pursued.

I imagine Ford is reading the market, not willing to take risks or be a first. They will see what others do and weigh what works and what doesn’t.

in order to be a true performance leader in a world soon dominated by EV AWD vehicles, the Mustang will HAVE to have AWD. Whether that is hybrid or full EV, we will find out in a few years.

right now, Ford has the challenge of selling gas powered, RWD s650s to focus on in the immediate future. Might as well dispel the notion that buyers should wait for something better down the road.

sales management.

The races in which the GT500 loses to an AWD car are mostly drag races. GT500 has done a pretty good job at spanking cars around a track. I don't think Ford gives two shits about losing drag races to AWD "competitors".

And you're off base - the Mustang's competition is dead or dying. No doubt an AWD EV would be able to spank S650 in a drag race, but who cares? Who actually wants shitbox EVs? You can't compare the two anyway, and if you are going to compare them, EVs wouldn't be able to hang with a hi-po S650 on a road course, lap after lap. EVs are fast, but they're not performance cars - their batteries overheat in road course environment.

Me, personally, I was never into, nor did I wish for, AWD or hybrid tech in S650. Manual, V8, and RWD - that's the enthusiast's choice.

 

[BoostRabbitGT]

Initially slated for a mid-decade introduction, Ford has reportedly scrapped the electrified variant, but the reason is unknown. Currently, there's no word on whether the hybrid will make a return towards the end of the decade. This will be great news to traditionalists, who love the Mustang for its unassisted V8.

But that's not the only new feature to be scrapped. The rumored AWD Mustang has also been killed, according to the company insiders. With the current generation Charger and Challenger on life support, there will soon be no all-wheel drive options in the muscle car class.

Again, this should come as a relief to purists. After all, the Mustang has always been an affordable way to get behind the wheel of a V8-powered vehicle with a penchant for doing burnouts. All-wheel drive would bring more grip and tractability but also add an air of civility at odds with the iconic muscle car's image.

As an outlier fan who would've loved the potential added practicality of both AWD and a hybrid V8 (or just a regular V8 with AWD at the very least), it's time to go through something equivalent of the five stages of grief between now and September 14th. Keep my expectations in check that we'll still get an improved ICE experience with the good things that we already have. But in the highly unlikelyhood those insider claims turn out to be a red herring, then hey, there's a pleasantly unexpected surprise to be had. I still hope whatever the S650 brings to the table, whether immediately or sometime before the EV Mustang coupe replaces it, it will bring a smile to people's faces.

 

[tosha]

I imagine Ford is reading the market, not willing to take risks or be a first. They will see what others do and weigh what works and what doesn’t.

in order to be a true performance leader in a world soon dominated by EV AWD vehicles, the Mustang will HAVE to have AWD. Whether that is hybrid or full EV, we will find out in a few years.

Not sure what you mean by not taking risks and waiting few years - Ford been selling AWD all-EV grocery racing champ with Mustang badge on it for several years. And no need to worry about couple extra doors, they can slap any style body on top of this battery pack.

 

[9secondko]

Not sure what you mean by not taking risks and waiting few years - Ford been selling AWD all-EV grocery racing champ with Mustang badge on it for several years. And no need to worry about couple extra doors, they can slap any style body on top of this battery pack.

Thanks! that’s my point. Grocery getter AWD electric vehicles (even those with horse stickers!) having better traction than the actual legendary Mustang Is just sad. Thankfully ford didn’t completely lose the plot and make the Mach e accelerate faster. Give the Mustang AWD so it can make the most of its power, v8 or EV OR HYBRID. The mustang has had superior engines for a long time, but has often missed the traction needed to maximize. It’s time for that to change.

Like I said before the segue, most Mustang owners would rather WIN races than do donuts. Give the legend its AWD already. For crying out loud.

 

[Ericc B]

I find this extremely unlikely. Without a hybrid V8 Ford would give up the entire European market because they simply cannot afford the emissions penalties.

 

[9secondko]

The races in which the GT500 loses to an AWD car are mostly drag races. GT500 has done a pretty good job at spanking cars around a track. I don't think Ford gives two shits about losing drag races to AWD "competitors".

And you're off base - the Mustang's competition is dead or dying. No doubt an AWD EV would be able to spank S650 in a drag race, but who cares? Who actually wants shitbox EVs? You can't compare the two anyway, and if you are going to compare them, EVs wouldn't be able to hang with a hi-po S650 on a road course, lap after lap. EVs are fast, but they're not performance cars - their batteries overheat in road course environment.

Me, personally, I was never into, nor did I wish for, AWD or hybrid tech in S650. Manual, V8, and RWD - that's the enthusiast's choice.

there’s no stopping an AWD from at least matching road course performance, more likely improving on it, so I think the entire crux of your argument is dead in the water.

an AWD setup would go faster in a straight line - probably more mustang guys are doing the 1320 than road course, but AWD on a road course is also a good thing. It’s a win-win.

as far as AWD EVs spanking the mustang in acceleration, you are treating the mustang as though it’s not allowed to advance, but must remain just like - in your words - it’s dead and dying competition. Except that competition isn’t dead. It’s going EV. THR CAMARO is dead. For now. It has died before. Dodge isn’t going that route. So that’s not an accurate statement anyway. If you relegate the Mustang to bygone days, then it dies. But if you embrace the switch from car station to fuel injection, dual clutch transmissions, overhead cams from pushrods, etc. then it’s time to embrace the next leap - AWD and quite likely electric or hybrid as well.

the narrow thinking goes “mustang must be RWD and gas only.” But broad horizons, forward thinking goes “ the market is changing and politics have much to do with it. EVs are coming in force. How will the Mustang exist when a standalone v8 engine is no longer viable due to restrictions placed on them? How will it be a performance leader when most of the vanilla EVs will have AWD and instant torque EV power trains? Let’s find solutions to making the mustang be not only relevant, but better than ever.” AWD and hi-po EV/hybrid are obvious low hanging fruit solutions. Instead of heads buried in the sand, enthusiasts need to be thinking of how this works into the future. The Mustang has been the accessible exotic. Customizable to the buyers tastes, iconic in style, exotic in performance, yet somewhat affordable up to the GT trim level.

The Mustang must change in order to stay iconic, it must remain customizable, and it must have exotic performance levels available relative to the market around it. That’s simply how it is. It will remain true to the spirit of the car, but more capable than ever as a result of more capable competition.

AWD IS A GOOD THING. It’s a performance benefit. Period.

 

[Ace]

I find this extremely unlikely. Without a hybrid V8 Ford would give up the entire European market because they simply cannot afford the emissions penalties.

Also it would be a great sales pitch. If you trade in your Gen 6 for the Hybrid you will easily save hundreds or even thousands of euros on annual taxes depending on the country you live in since they are all based on the WLTP emissions and it's heavily favoring Hybrids. The Hybrid V6 Explorer costs less taxes than the smallest VW Polo you can buy.

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