Passion Play
Dramatic video series reveals a behind-the-scenes look at S550 development
By Steve Turner
After running across a new series of 2015 Mustang videos over on Vimeo, your author was swept back to that emotional moment when I first met the 2015 Mustang in person. Sure, at that time, I was only looking at a life-size model, but it was nearly love at first sight. While I was supposed to act as an objective member of the press, I couldn’t help being swept back to my roots as a Mustang fanboy. After watching these clips, I’ll bet you feel a little fanboy flutter yourself.
Typically, I need a period of adjustment before I adapt to a fresh Mustang redesign, and I know some of you feel that way about the latest version. However, after watching these videos, you can’t help but appreciate the passion that goes into developing a car as iconic as the Mustang. First, let’s go behind the scenes with the car’s creators:
Most evident with any new Mustang is the way it looks, and that was something the designers took seriously. I had the opportunity to sit down with Chief Designer, Global Interiors, Doyle Letson, after seeing the car and it was clear he felt a responsibility to the car’s history.
He also enjoyed a great working relationship with the Mustang’s engineers, which allowed them both to reach their goals. As an example, integrating the passenger-side airbag in the glovebox door freed up room for the designers to work their magic. See how that plan came together here:
Naturally, for most of you reading this page, it is the work of the car’s whole engineering team—under the leadership of Mustang Chief Engineer, Dave Pericak, and Vehicle Engineering Manager, Tom Barnes—that will interest you most. With a whole new chassis and suspension powered by a tuned-up 5.0-liter engine, the possibilities are tantalizing. In this clip, you get a look inside the engineering and testing of the 2015:
After watching these gorgeous clips, we simply can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the new Mustang in all its variations.
The people that produced those videos did an absolutely fantastic job. Ford’s media and marketing arm has done a great job.
That said, one thing about the S550 that already irks me is the new exhaust systems (I’m disregarding anything other than V8 models). Not the engineering behind it, but what emission regulations, weight, and cost concerns have morphed it into. After suffering through the ’65/’66, ’67/’68, ’69/’70, ’71-’73, skipping the Iacocca Pinto version at any cost, ’79-’93, ’94/’95, ’96-’04 systems, Ford finally got it right with the advent of the S197. Exhaust systems were very much symmetrical, were easy to break down by section, and serviced well. That simplicity looks to have disappeared. The symmetry is gone from the manifolds, to the “H” section, as well as the mid/tailpipe assemblies. No doubt, the aftermarket will come to the rescue, but it says something about the previous era in what we may never see again.
Well, I do recall the engineers taking modding into consideration when designing the S197. I haven’t heard much of that regarding this car…
Great videos. Gave me the shivers.
What engine/exhaust combo were they featuring a lot in those vids? EB? Sounded like a weld inside the muffler broke loose.
I thought the same, I kept checking my headphones thinking something was rattling.