All things move in cycles. Ford stopped building sedans. Ford focused on trucks and SUVs, keeping the Mustang as its only car. Ford thought of a revolutionary idea — a Mustang but with four doors this time. Ford can resume building sedans.
That’s the report out of a recent Ford product planning meeting.
The automaker held a planning session with dealers last week — a regular occurrence in the industry. Automotive News reports that CEO Jim Farley showed off two new Mustang models there.
Just Sketches and Mock-Ups for Now
“Dealers saw a rendering of a long-rumored 4-door coupe, which two of the sources said was called the Mach 4,” AN reports. “Farley also showed a photo of an off-road Baja model, lifted with special tires, that he described as embodying ‘rugged’ performance, according to the four attendees.” Both models were gas-powered, attendees said.
The displays weren’t finished cars. They were “a mix of physical mock-ups, photos, and digital renderings.” Automakers build so-called design bucks – essentially full-size sculptures of vehicles with no interior and no mechanical parts – all the time. Not every design buck becomes a car on sale in a dealership.
However, showing the car to dealers means Ford is taking the idea seriously enough to ask for opinions from the people who talk to car buyers daily.
Mustang Raptor
Ford has publicly toyed with the idea of a “Mustang Raptor” since early 2023. Once Porsche built an off-road 911 and Lamborghini revealed a dirt-road Huracán, it was clear that performance cars were mating with trophy trucks everywhere.
AN reports that the off-road Mustang could be 4-wheel drive (4WD), not all-wheel drive (AWD).
Mustang Mach 4 Sedan
The “4-door coupe” idea has undeniable irony to it. Ford publicly abandoned building sedans, at least for the U.S. market, after the 2021 model year. The company argued that America’s tastes had changed, and while there was still a market for sports cars, SUVs were the new family car.
Now, it seems to be discovering that some sports car fans would like to bring their families along comfortably.
We should be fair to Ford and note that a Mustang sedan will likely have more aggressive styling than a reborn Ford Fusion.
Farley told the UK’s Autocar that Ford will “never build a Mustang that isn’t a Mustang.” He said Ford could consider a 4-door model as long as it had “all the performance and attitude of the original.”
We may even have a hint of what it might look like. When Ford first debuted the current, seventh-generation Mustang, it sent journalists a series of sketches created in the design phase. One had small rear doors and looked every bit like a Mustang.
The American sedan has not faired well in recent years. Chrysler recently ended production of its 300 sedan, leaving it with nothing but a minivan to its name. Dodge built its final Charger sedan last year. It brought out a 2-door replacement, though it does plan a 4-door version. And Chevrolet will cease production of its last sedan, the Malibu, in November.
