Will the 2020 Mustang Hybrid Remain True to the Muscle Car Spirit?
There's been plenty of talk about the 2020 Mustang hybrid since its announcement at the start of 2017. Here's what we know so far.
1. The changing face of muscle cars?
There are a great many auto enthusiasts out there who look upon the concept of a hybridized muscle car with the same derision as someone talking with their mouth full. Harkening back to the days of Vanishing Point and the roar of vintage unadulterated power, replacing the distinctively ferocious V8 with a hybrid powertrain might almost seem disrespectful, like a bad joke.
The transition was going to happen eventually, of course, and with general market trends skewed towards increasingly clean and fuel-conscious options, it was inevitable we’d eventually see our muscle cars adapt as well. Early this year, Ford announced the upcoming 2020 Mustang would be made available as a hybrid. Opinions have been unsurprisingly mixed, and this is still years before any of us have had a chance to get behind the wheel of one.
The Mustang’s facelifts in the past decade have brought back some of the vintage muscle car aesthetics. This evolution obviously risks alienating certain things that defined the Mustang in the first place. However, acknowledging their classic past through design implies Ford aren’t about to neglect the legacy. Based on what little they’ve said about the 2020 hybrid so far, it seems there is every reason to feel hopeful...
>>Join the conversation about a future Mustang Hybrid here in The Mustang Source.
2. It will apparently rival V8 performance.
Performance concerns tend to be one of the biggest points brought up whenever people wax cynical about hybrid and EV designs. There’s still every reason to cast doubt over the limited range and waning power of electric cars, but hybrids stand as an effective balance between the two. The 2020 Mustang won’t even be a full plug-in hybrid at that; the Mustang’s ion battery will be used to store and recycle energy created from the gasoline. What’s most surprising about this is that Ford says the hybrid will perform about as well as a standard V8 engine ‘Stang would. There isn’t information yet on exact comparisons, but it is worth keeping in mind that this isn’t quite the massive change all the kneejerk reactions make it out to be.
>>Join the conversation about a future Mustang Hybrid here in The Mustang Source.
3. Ford have emphasized efficiency with recent initiatives.
Impressive specs on the new hybrid may still not be enough to quell the more fiery purists out there. Some even think designers are betraying the muscle car philosophy by taking efficiency and eco-impact under consideration. The writing’s been on the wall for a while, however; Ford made their green priorities clear with the EcoBoost engine, regulating torque for the sake of lowering emissions. Besides the public’s growing interest in efficient vehicles, tightened government regulations would make it virtually impossible to have that same “devil may care” attitude when it comes to design.
>>Join the conversation about a future Mustang Hybrid here in The Mustang Source.
4. There are police service versions planned.
It’s also worthy to note that Ford has announced service models of the hybrid Mustang for use in law enforcement. The Mustang has seen plenty of action as a police interceptor already. If Ford thinks a hybrid can fill those shoes just as well, it goes to show how much we can expect from it.
>>Join the conversation about a future Mustang Hybrid here in The Mustang Source.
5. They’re making a big deal of it well in advance.
The 2020 hybrid Mustang isn’t the only thing around the corner either. At the recent NTEA trucks expo, Ford unveiled an updated lineup of trucks that mirror the new Mustang’s cleaner bent. A hybridized F-150 may spark the same doubts with its respective fanbase, but there’s no doubt that Ford’s biggest challenge will be to get the Mustang fans onboard with this. Considering they’ve been making noise about the 2020 hybrid three full years in advance, it’s clear they want to give themselves as much time as possible to warm their consumers up to the idea. It will be interesting to see what tricks of persuasion Ford tries to pull for this and whether the purists will feel differently by the time it hits the streets. However, this much is clear, if the 2020 Mustang is as good as the people at Ford are saying, it shouldn’t take long for minds to change once the rest of us get a chance behind the wheel.
>>Join the conversation about a future Mustang Hybrid here in The Mustang Source.
For help with service of your car, check out the how-to section of our sister site MustangForums.com