S650 Mustang design / styling first-hand description 🕵🏻‍♂️

[Shelbeast]

There is no nextgen Challenger, they only have the EV. With the S650 not being EV, I don't think they are direct competitors anymore

"MoparInsiders also reports that their sources say FCA is considering running production of the **next-generation Dodge Challenger** alongside the current car for a couple of months at the minimum at the Brampton Assembly Plant in Brampton, Ontario."

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[Jimmy Dean]

Yeah, its because more people are buying them

On a slightly more serious note, Challenger has.......er.......challenged Mustang closely for top sales the last couple of years. Why did it win this year? Probably for lot of reasons, but two that I think are relevant are that buyers know Challenger dies in 2024 so there's probably a significant number of people "buying them now or never". Plus, Flatrock was down for 2 months out of the 12 due to chip shortages and the fuel leak issue, so less Mustangs were built than would normally be the case.

That's not to defend Mustang per se, as it's an ageing product and if you have one already, there's not a lot of reasons to trade up to a newer one.

I'm a sucker for retro style though (I have 2 S197s) and the Challenger nailed it in the looks department. The fact it seats 5 and has the biggest trunk of the 3 pony cars, means it also nails the "practical" toy aspect, too. Having said that, it's also an ageing product (one real refresh since 2008!!) so you'd also think there wouldn't be reasons for people to trade their existing Challenger against a new one. And yet here we are!

it is not that difficult.

it is because Ford prioritized hard to obtain parts, the chips, on the trucks and broncos, not mustang.

 

[llinthicum1]

There is a big difference between a 2-seater and 2-doors

Thanks!

 

[because_murica]

"MoparInsiders also reports that their sources say FCA is considering running production of the **next-generation Dodge Challenger** alongside the current car for a couple of months at the minimum at the Brampton Assembly Plant in Brampton, Ontario."

Keyword is FCA there...........no next gen Challenger with Stellantis at the helm now - at least not an ICE version.

 

[DeluxeStang]

They may be waiting to see what the all new 2023 Challenger has in store.

There's no way they can really wait to see what the next gen challenger has in-store, they're releasing the next gen mustang before the next gen challenger. With how long car development takes, if Ford waited to see the next gen challenger before completing the next gen mustang, it wouldn't arrive until like 2025 or 2026, if not later. At best, they'll see what the challenger offers, and design new trim levels to complete. But even the trim levels and higher performance varients tend to be in development before a car is released. So it's not like they'd have a ton of room the alter those either to respond to the challenger. All they can do is anticipate what Dodge is planning, and counter it before either model is released. Which is easier said than done obviously.

 

[DeluxeStang]

There is no nextgen Challenger, they only have the EV. With the S650 not being EV, I don't think they are direct competitors anymore

Which puts the s650 into a really unique position. I can see it being a massive success, because it's the final sendoff for gas power muscle cars. As such, it has the potential to become one of the most iconic cars in recent history if executed well. However, I could also see it damaging ford's reputation, if gm makes an ev Camaro, sedan or otherwise, that's well received, and dodge makes an ev muscle car that's well received, people might look at the s650 as being outdated, and behind the times. You'd probably see a lot of comments from people screaming that Ford made an internal combustion engine car when everyone else is investing more heavily in evs. The best approach is to obviously make a ICE mustang to appeal to purists, but also offer hybrid and all electric mustangs. I just don't know if an all electric mustang is feasible if the s650 uses the s550s chassis. Not sure if they would have the space the fit a massive battery. The motors aren't a huge deal, everyone knows those are relatively small and easy the package. But fitting the battery in could be a substantial challenge.

 

[Shelbeast]

There's no way they can really wait to see what the next gen challenger has in-store, they're releasing the next gen mustang before the next gen challenger. With how long car development takes, if Ford waited to see the next gen challenger before completing the next gen mustang, it wouldn't arrive until like 2025 or 2026, if not later. At best, they'll see what the challenger offers, and design new trim levels to complete. But even the trim levels and higher performance varients tend to be in development before a car is released. So it's not like they'd have a ton of room the alter those either to respond to the challenger. All they can do is anticipate what Dodge is planning, and counter it before either model is released. Which is easier said than done obviously.

With the current delays, i expect the new mustang to get even more delayed. I have seen Ford during the horsepower wars specifically wait it out. Seen it vs. camaro, Vette, and how fast dodge did red eye and other upgrades. That stuff is done early and added at last minute. Its a money game. The EV war is on and they also expect to see what others have. It's all about the wave man!

Example, Apple has made the bomb iphone. They bring down a couple of notches and call it the 15. They add the cool stuff on the next one to get you to buy a new one.

Again, they have countered many times with certain measures at the last minute and will do it again.

 

[Sivi70980]

With the current delays, i expect the new mustang to get even more delayed. I have seen Ford during the horsepower wars specifically wait it out. Seen it vs. camaro, Vette, and how fast dodge did red eye and other upgrades. That stuff is done early and added at last minute. Its a money game. The EV war is on and they also expect to see what others have. It's all about the wave man!

Example, Apple has made the bomb iphone. They bring down a couple of notches and call it the 15. They add the cool stuff on the next one got get you to get a new one.

Again, they have countered many times with certain measures at the last minute and will do it again.

Everyone knows Apple gets their iPhone tech from aliens...

 

[because_murica]

Which puts the s650 into a really unique position. I can see it being a massive success, because it's the final sendoff for gas power muscle cars. As such, it has the potential to become one of the most iconic cars in recent history if executed well.

If the "I hope my kid has a poster of it on his wall" quote from Jim Farley has any truth to it, S650 will be just that, an iconic car. I have faith in Jim. I also have faith in Ford's engineers. S550 GT350 and GT500 proved they know how to make stellar cars, so I have no doubt S650, even in lower trim levels, will be an impressive sports car (they've evolved from just being muscle).

They just have to nail the styling for S650 - this is why Jem is a wanted man in all 50 states and most of Europe

 

[Twin Turbo]

@Jem was last spotted getting into his Uber......

 

[shogun32]

mopar buyers are already well accustomed to paying Guzzler tax. I personally doubt they are going to abandon ICE to any significant degree. Sure the CEO is jawboning to keep the "can't see 1" past their nose, quarterly results" Wall Street happy. And brown-nosing regulators, but deep inside I think all parties know they are lying their ass off.

You can do a limited hybrid across the current S550 using a pancake motor and batteries under the rear "seats" and behind the seat backs - think one of those 12" woofer boxes you can buy. Probably not more than 30 miles range, but if they use it as a start/stop/creep assist and kill the ICE when stopped it will curry decent favor with the eco-nazis.

 

[DeluxeStang]

If the "I hope my kid has a poster of it on his wall" quote from Jim Farley has any truth to it, S650 will be just that, an iconic car. I have faith in Jim. I also have faith in Ford's engineers. S550 GT350 and GT500 proved they know how to make stellar cars, so I have no doubt S650, even in lower trim levels, will be an impressive sports car (they've evolved from just being muscle).

They just have to nail the styling for S650 - this is why Jem is a wanted man in all 50 states and most of Europe

I really hope they nail the styling as you mentioned. I don't care about performance a huge amount as long as it's slightly better than the s550, which all signs point to the fact that it will be a better performing s550 essentially. But even if it wasn't better performing, you can always improve a cars performance. You can't fix a bad design, especially if the bad aspects of that design pertain to things like the proportions and overall shape. Design is the single most important thing for any upcoming sports car, mustang including, so they can't mess it up.

 

[DeluxeStang]

If the "I hope my kid has a poster of it on his wall" quote from Jim Farley has any truth to it, S650 will be just that, an iconic car. I have faith in Jim. I also have faith in Ford's engineers. S550 GT350 and GT500 proved they know how to make stellar cars, so I have no doubt S650, even in lower trim levels, will be an impressive sports car (they've evolved from just being muscle).

They just have to nail the styling for S650 - this is why Jem is a wanted man in all 50 states and most of Europe

Regarding Jem's comments, they've twisted my brain in a pretzel lol. Because other credible leakers have called the s650 gorgeous, such as ExplorerDude on the blue oval forums. But Jem is basically saying it's meh, not ugly, just underwhelming. But even he admitted he'd only seen parts of the design, and that the design he saw, could just be one of the proposals that was scrapped. I have faith in ford's designers, they tend to do a good job, especially when the previous gen gives them a solid foundation. I don't see their designers getting a directive of, make this a worthwhile poster car, having dozens of not hundreds of designers submit sketches for it, and ending up with something that's just meh. Generally the sketches for the next gen mustang are pretty solid, and the best one gets picked. So the design should be the best of the best in theory.

 

[because_murica]

Regarding Jem's comments, they've twisted my brain in a pretzel lol. Because other credible leakers have called the s650 gorgeous, such as ExplorerDude on the blue oval forums.

What if...........

 

[Ace]

Regarding Jem's comments, they've twisted my brain in a pretzel lol. Because other credible leakers have called the s650 gorgeous, such as ExplorerDude on the blue oval forums. But Jem is basically saying it's meh, not ugly, just underwhelming. But even he admitted he'd only seen parts of the design, and that the design he saw, could just be one of the proposals that was scrapped. I have faith in ford's designers, they tend to do a good job, especially when the previous gen gives them a solid foundation. I don't see their designers getting a directive of, make this a worthwhile poster car, having dozens of not hundreds of designers submit sketches for it, and ending up with something that's just meh. Generally the sketches for the next gen mustang are pretty solid, and the best one gets picked. So the design should be the best of the best in theory.

THe 18 refresh and the GT500 were a step back from the timeless 15 GT and especially GT350 design, so I wouldn't bet on the S650 being a visual improvement over the current gen. I can totally see Ford going way more into the "european styling" making the hood even lower and shorter, removing more of the typical muscle car look

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