In recent years, sports cars have generally become lighter in order to be faster and more fuel-efficient, but it appears that not all automakers are embracing this unwritten rule. For some reason, Ford has yet to communicate the weight of the all-new 2015 Mustang, which may lead to speculations.
As one could expect, speculation was quick to emerge, with Steeda Autosports, an aftermarket specialist that produces and sells Mustang parts, making some interesting statements about the development of the all-new Mustang on its blog, including a “bombshell” regarding the car’s weight. According to them, the 2015 Mustang is 200-300 lbs (91-136 kg) heavier than its predecessor.
“Our work is cut out for us because unbeknown to most Mustang aficionados (and not ‘officially’ confirmed by Ford for obvious reasons), the 2015 Mustang ended up gaining 200-300 pounds in this remake – and with weight being the‘enemy of performance’, there are plenty of challenges needed to ensure that the 2015 iteration of America’s favorite Pony Car isn’t left at the starting line spinning its wheels against the competition,” reads Steeda’s blog post.
This statement has obviously created a stir on Mustang forums, until someone from Steeda explained on Mustang6g.com how the company actually came up with the figures: “Based on our experience working with IRS mustangs in the past we estimated what the weight addition will be. In addition current industry trends with new cars show additional weight being added for various new safety and comfort features.”
We were ready to call this a false alarm, when an independent report from Road & Track caught our eye. It says that the 2015 Mustang will indeed be heavier because of the more complex independent rear suspension and the harsher roof-crush standards it has to meet. However, according to an insider, the weight gain will be up to 250 lbs (113 kg) for the Ford Mustang GT Premium, the heaviest possible trim package.
Lesser models with V6 or four-cylinder power are likely to be 50-70 lbs heavier (23-32 kg), while the base GT should be 170 lbs (77 kg) heavier. We don’t know how these weight gains will affect the 2015 Mustang’s performance, but customers who have already placed their orders will no doubt be very interested in that.
By Dan Mihalascu
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