Last week we were so busy covering all the great new products at the Performance Racing Industry Show in Indianapolis, Indiana, that we didn’t get to dig too deep into one of the biggest stories of the season; the 2015 Ford Mustang. Naturally the new 2015 Mustang was on display, and supposedly with a 2.3 liter EcoBoost under the hood, though we couldn’t get Ford to open the hood to let us check out the new motor.
But the green racing gurus over at Gas2.org talked to a Ford rep off the record about the 2015 Mustang, and according to this unnamed source, a solid rear axle 2015 Mustang “Body in White” is coming. That’s good news for drag racers looking forward to a next-gen Cobra Jet.
Among the many improvements to the street going version of the 2015 Mustang is the addition of an independent rear suspension, designed to dramatically improve handling in the twisties compared to the old solid rear axle the Mustang has used since its inception (with the exception of 99-04 Cobras). An IRS has been on the wishlists of many Mustang fans for at least a decade, though old school drag racers were happy the solid rear stuck around for one more generation.
With so many Mustang fans deeply ingrained in drag racing, there were fears that the Mustang was straying from its drag strip roots. But this unconfirmed rumor suggests that Ford is still paying a lot of attention to the drag racing community, as well as feeding rumors that the Mustang Cobra Jet drag car will continue to stick around as well.
The continuation of the Cobra Jet and Body in White programs means that the 2015+ Mustang is keen on maintaining its performance roots, and just because its handles better doesn’t mean straight line performance has to suffer. This is big news for Mustang fans and racers alike.