This story contains independent illustrations that are neither related to nor endorsed by Ford.
The Chevy Corvette’s switch to a mid-engine layout was supposedly because the limits of front-engine performance had been reached. But what if Ford had run into that same stopping point with the Mustang? This rendering by TheSketchMonkey imagines exactly that: an S650 Mustang that has gone mid-engine in the name of performance.
Ford doesn’t really have a vehicle that competes with the Corvette. The Mustang is arguably a tier below it, while the GT, the Blue Oval’s only other sports car, is a tier above. But with the Mustang’s chief rival from Chevy – the Camaro – reportedly being discontinued as we know it, it’s left without a direct competitor. In theory, the vehicle envisioned in this rendering would most likely exist in a world where Ford pushes the Mustang upmarket to a mid-engine layout to compete with the C8 Corvette.
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Looking at the actual renderings, in order to take the Mustang from front-engine pony car to mid-engine sports car, TheSketchMonkey made a few key changes. The most obvious was the greenhouse, which needed to be moved forward to accommodate the fictional relocation of the engine. In order for the engine to still receive adequate airflow in its new location, side vents from the Ford GT were also added. Aside from that, to better fit the new mid-engine layout, the proportions of the car were altered with a lower, pointier nose, a shortened rear overhang, and a reshaped rear end. Finally, just to help sell the inherently exotic look of a mid-engine car, the wheels were slightly enlarged.
Overall, the rendering is a home run in our eyes, and we could envision it out on the roads in the extremely unlikely event that a project like this was ever greenlit. As for a potential powertrain, we could see it using the Dark Horse‘s 5.0L V8 with 500 hp (507 PS / 373 kW) and 418 lb-ft (567 Nm) of torque, which would put it in line with the C8 Stingray’s 495 hp (502 PS / 369 kW) and 465 lb-ft (630 Nm) of torque. TheSketchMonkey even made a convertible version too, and we’d recommend checking that out, as well as the car’s full design process, in the video above.
