How A Ford Probe-Based Ford Mustang Would Have Been The Ultimate Fox Body

Pony cars are probably looked upon as drastically different things depending on your age. For people in their twenties, cars like the Mustang, Camaro, or Challenger are likely what they view as stuck-in-the-late sixties pastiches that continued to rehash the same cars over and over again. But if you’re older, you remember Pony cars starting out as a rather unique concept of an inexpensive sporting machine which became something else as it changed with the times.

As an example, let’s look at Pontiac’s pony car, the Firebird. This F-Body Camaro clone began as a Mustang me-too notchback, then transformed into the Ferrari-like fastback for the second generation model. By the late seventies, giant gold “screaming chicken” decals covered the hood of this once-subdued version of the Firebird to the delight of mustached Burt Reynolds wannabes.

Just when some people were ready to write the car off as a garish, brash anachronism, Pontiac blew them away with the futuristic and tasteful third generation. Featuring pop-up lights, bowling ball wheel covers, and hood decals so small they could fit in the palm of your hand, it was a perfect example of how “pony cars” could change over Knight (sorry, sorry).

The Mustang was the same way. The original 1964 car got bigger and bigger until Ford drastically “downsized” it to the controversial Mustang II, just in time for the 1973-74 energy crisis. As we’ve discussed recently, the small Pinto-based Mustang did sell strongly at first but alienated some more traditional buyers, and ultimately cleared the way for archrival Camaro to gain a major footing.

Last week, I looked at an alternative future where two separate Mustangs started a parallel path in 1974; a small “Stallion” model to fight European and Japanese competitors and a revised, more practical “big” Mustang to keep GM’s F-Body duo at bay:

The concepts I did were not universally hated by most of the commenters, and several wondered what would come next in the Ford timeline. I wasn’t planning on doing that, but a few suggestions in the comments had me starting down the path, and then it was too late to stop.

An Alternate Horse, Uh, Tail

Lord, I despise making a dreaded Gantt chart like I would do at my real job, but it’s the best way to illustrate how an alternate two-Mustang timeline might have shaken out. After the “double ‘Stang” lineup would appear in 1974, we’d have to offer updates at certain intervals.

As some commenters pointed out, the lineage of the small “Stallion” Mustang would likely flow into the rather unloved Escort-based EXP (which I’ll tackle soon) and terminate into the introduction of the front-drive Mazda-based Probe in 1988: a car that was initially planned to replace the rear drive Mustang entirely before angry fans took up arms. Ultimately, the production Probe was released alongside the aging Fox body to finally give Ford the legitimate import-fighting coupe I suggested releasing a decade and a half earlier.

Naturally, none of the what-if Mustangs shown above after 1974 in the alternate timeline exist, so it looks like I need to spend hours drawing and populating the blanks above until either you or I finally get sick of it and tell me to stop. For now, let’s focus on the what-if for the “big” Mustang, when the Falcon XB-like model I suggested had run its course in 1978.

Put on your Hush Puppies and let’s take a step back into an alternate late timeline in the last year before the 1980s …

I’m Glad They Didn’t Call It The III

If you weren’t around in late 1978, it’s hard to understate the elation of the Ford faithful when the Fox Mustang premiered to replace the Pinto-based car they so despised. I was a little kid then, but I still remember my jaw dropping when walking through the checkout section at Dart Drug with mom and seeing this thing on the cover of Motor Trend or something. I NEED THIS MAGAZINE RIGHT NOW!

Here was a Mustang that seemed just right. Longer than the outgoing Mustang II and within a few inches of the size of the original 1964 ½ car, Jack Telnack’s interpretation of the design language he had pioneered in his time with Ford overseas was a perfect mix of European detailing with American proportions that was the reimagining of the Mustang that enthusiasts wanted in 1974 but didn’t get.

The engines still weren’t much to write home about; there was a turbocharged Pinto four that was pretty pathetic, but then the V8 offered was as malaise-tastic as you might expect. At least the all-coil-spring chassis was a big advancement.

I think that the replacement for my 1974 “big XB” Mustang would almost certainly be based on the Fox platform. Still, as nice as I thought the real 1979 Mustang looked, I want to take it to the next level and really put The General on notice. If the 1979 FoxStang was the “step” move for the next Ford Ponycar, what would a “leap” version look like? It turns out that Ford had a showcase of new thinking that would have been perfect for Mustang to prove who The Boss was once again.

Probing The Future

When you think of Ford in the 1970s, most of us imagine the rather nightmarish peak-of-malaise products as seen in episodes of Charlie’s Angels: orange Pintos with silly stripes and cartoonish Mustang II Cobras. Behind the scenes, though, Ford was digging deep into what tomorrow’s cars might look like. Don Kopka was the Executive Director of Advanced and International Design Studio at Ford, and his goal was to create Ford passenger cars that would focus on aerodynamics and fuel efficiency. Working with the Ford-owned Ghia studios in Italy, the thesis projects of Kopka were the Probe concept cars that hit the show circuit starting in 1979.

The Probe series (again, not to be confused with the production 1988 FWD Ford Probe) influenced much of the “aero” look of Ford cars (and competitors) throughout the eighties and beyond, but one wonders if they couldn’t have done more, and sooner. One of our top commenters – aero-vehicle fanatic and builder Toecutter – reminded me these forward-thinking concepts up when commenting on the earlier Mustang proposals that I slapped together (he mentioned the later Probe IV which I’ll eventually work with), but his suggestion made me think that the Probe show cars in general would make good basis to develop new Mustangs.

The first Probe concept from 1979 was actually built on a Fox Mustang chassis (well, it could have been a Fairmont) by Ghia in Turin. It’s disputed as to whether or not the Italian studio actually had anything to do with the design, but the Turin site handcrafted the show car.

Unlike Ford’s more famous aero cars of later in the eighties, the Probe I was far more angular in appearance. The concept still managed to slice the wind at a reported .25Cd drag coefficient, due in no small part to the pop-up headlamps, flush glass, smooth wheel covers, extended tail, and skirted rear wheels (I will say that the sunken-in side marker lights are a pretty nasty afterthought). The stock 1979 Mustang reportedly ranged from 0.49 to 0.44 depending on the body style, so there was work to be done.

There’s plenty of grist for the design mill here both technically and aesthetically, and a lot to make an even more dramatic “standard-sized” Mustang than the real one we happily received for 1979.

Outfoxing The F-Car

The fact that the Probe I was on a Fox chassis means we just can’t ignore the opportunity to make it into a Mustang. Naturally, as with most concepts, we’ll want to make extensive modifications before it’s ready for market, and the Mustang is such an iconic car that there are certain non-negotiables.

The nose works well enough with a Mustang “grille,” but the extended tail (so crucial for aerodynamics) won’t fly from a sizing or the long hood/short trunk Mustang ethos. A lack of quarter windows also makes for a dark rear seat area, and doesn’t supply enough Mustang DNA. Glass can’t stay nearly as flush (it was still 1979, remember) but we can try, and the hard bends in the windshield will have to go.

I’ve shown the glass hatchback model, but a very similar-looking notchcback would be offered. “Tri-bar” taillights and even backup lights on the rear valance are pure early Mustang (obviously flexible urethane front and rear panels will withstand the federally mandated 5MPH hits). Ironically, once I put the Photoshop down I realized that this alternate reality 1979 Mustang heavily foreshadows the looks of the upcoming 1982 GM F-bodies. It’s too bad that Ford’s big rival took more of this Probe I concept into production than they did.

The Probe I show car’s interior is a bit of a disappointment, but again this is about as mainstream a car as you can get. It’s better to be clean and functional and not Citroen-wild, just like the exterior, so we could work with the show car’s dash. That automatic transmission selector rollercoaster-looking thing is intriguing, as well as those throw pillows on the steering wheel. Hey, look, it’s the same damn chrome ignition switch collar Ford put on every car they made in the seventies!

For my 1979 ProbeStang, we’d chuck the Ford Fairmont instrument panel of the real 1979 Mustang and replace it with a modified version of the one in the Probe show car. I’ve raided the Ford parts bin once again, and it seems to work. A modern interpretation of the original 1964 ½ wheel sits in front of the gauge cluster and a line-of-sight upper strip of warning lights that would include an “upshift” and “redline” warning light (you can switch them off via those buttons to the right of the steering column, next to the right-hand remote mirror control).

Later Fox Mustangs had an open storage area on the passenger’s side of the dash that ended up collecting a lot of crap, so I proposed at least putting a door over it. The high-tech-for-the-time Foxstang diagnostic panel and digital clock have found a home in front of the manual transmission selector, which is a “floating” cube in a leather field that gives just enough what-the-hell to the cabin. Also, we’ve used a “space saver” parking brake without the long arm that reduces console storage space. You still get a coin tray in front of the lever if you don’t order power windows (power locks are on the door just like the OG FoxStang).

Again, nothing earthshaking or too polarizing when you’re aiming at 400,000 sales a year in America.

How Much Future Is Too Much Future?

The 1979 “ProbeStang” could have been a perfect way to utilize the creations of Ford’s best and brightest during the darkest days of the malaise era. Mind you, I’m predicting in the comments that aero fans like Toecutter will not be happy with my watered-down results, and I’m sure Ford’s Don Kopka would chastise me for weaseling out as well. I fully understand their disappointment, but the fact is that unadulterated and brilliant aero design on cars such as the Chrysler Airflow and Citroen DS has proven to be a tough sell in the American market. The 1982 Ford Sierra was a watered-down Probe concept that sold well enough overseas, but then again when I lived in the UK all of my classmate’s dads had Cortina company cars so I know that loyal buyer base likely played a large part in that success. Besides, the Sierra that was sold in America as the Merkur XR4Ti sold barely 10,000 in each of the four years it was available here (and the somewhat similar biplane-spoilered Mustang SVO was also showroom paperweight).

The world does need a hero that can push the advantages of pure aero onto the public, but with two kids, two cars, and a house with a sprinkler system bill sitting on my desk next to me I’m obviously not that guy, even in the what-if world. I’m too cognizant of what will sell, and while Pony car fans don’t necessarily shun progress there’s a limit to what they’ll accept; fender skirts and an extra foot of rear overhang aren’t part of that gestalt. Regardless, following the aero inspiration and dumbing it down for the 1979 “big” Mustang would give us a dramatic-looking and undeniably slicker car in the wind tunnel; buyers would have been blissfully unaware that they were being fed some aero vegetables they desperately need. More importantly, when the “KITT” 1982 Firebird came out, it wouldn’t have made the FoxStang suddenly look ten years old in the way that it did in real life.

Should we Probe the Pony some more?

Ford Missed Out By Not Offering This ‘Big’ Mustang Alongside The Pinto-Based Model We All Know – The Autopian

There Should Have Been Two Fords With The Mustang Badge In 1974, And Here’s The First One – The Autopian

Meet The Man Who Brought The Only Mustang II Out Of Over A Thousand Mustangs At The Mustang 60th Anniversary Event – The Autopian

A Daydreaming Designer Imagines The Mercury Version Of The Ford GT40 That Never Existed – The Autopian