It’s been a memorable week for muscle car lovers, but we can end it on a high note.
Ford confirmed today that the seventh-generation Mustang will debut on September 14.
The next-generation pony car will appear at a special event held as part of the Detroit Auto Show. Ford is inviting Mustang owners nationwide to converge on Ford World Headquarters for a drive to Detroit’s Hart Plaza for a festive unveiling they’re calling “The Stampede.”
More Questions Than Answers
And here, you’re asking us questions about the car. We don’t know. No one does. Ford has stayed tight-lipped about the next edition of its longest-running nameplate. Trade publication Automotive News has reported that the 2023 pony car “is expected to feature carryover V-8 and four-cylinder EcoBoost engines” under the hood. They cite “two people familiar with the plans.” But nothing has been confirmed.
The Mustang’s 1964 debut didn’t quite kick off the muscle car era. Detroit had been shoehorning big engines into cars that seemed too small for them for more than a decade by then.
But it did initiate a three-way battle that’s still raging between the Mustang, the Chevrolet Camaro, and a succession of Dodge muscle cars currently represented by the Challenger.
A Historic Week for Muscle Cars
That rivalry had an eventful week.
Dodge unveiled a concept car meant to push the muscle car category into the electric future – the Charger Daytona SRT Concept. Complete with an interpretation of engine noise for the electric era, it tries to replicate the spirit of the muscle car without its traditional big V8.
Response from fans is split. Some welcome an approach that can keep their love alive past the heyday of internal combustion, while others insist that an electric muscle car is a contradiction.
We’ve seen no indication that Ford will follow Dodge into the electric muscle car concept with this latest Mustang. That, however, could create an interesting new era for the rivalry. Ford has seemed to be the leader in the electrification race among the Big Three to date, with its F-150 Lightning electric pickup and Mustang Mach-E electric SUV (yes, it has Mustang in the name. No, no one considers it a Mustang).
Watching muscle car purists respond to a market where Dodge seems to be the progressive leader and Ford and GM may still be defending the classic V8 could be fascinating. We’ll know if that’s where the rivalry’s future lies in about a month.
