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MACKINAW CITY, Mich. — Look out for the new Mustang! Ford's classic pony car shows a muscular-edge design in the styling department for 1999. But that's not all. There are more horses hitched beneath that exaggerated front hood to help mark the 35th anniversary of this American automotive icon.
When the original Mustang coupe rolled out in 1964, it set a generation on edge with envy. Many iterations followed, from the first Mustang GT Fastback of 1965 and powerful 1969 Mach I, to such muscle machines as the Boss 302 of 1970, the GT 350 in 1984, and Mach III in 1993.
Current designs come from the revised 1994 Mustang, which is still built on Ford's so-called Fox platform, which dates back to the Ford Fairmont of the 1970s.
With exterior lines less rounded now, the new Mustang shows more creases and sharp angles. This 1999 version seems as much inspired by the original knife-edge coupe as Ford's more recent cutting-edge GT90 supercar, whose taut shape consists of complex interlocking triangles.
Coupe or convertible
Results of Ford's latest remake of the pony car were on display in Michigan recently with a preview test-drive program for the 1999 Mustang, cast as sporty two-door coupe or sensuous convertible.
Long and low, this Mustang carries vague reflections from the original. We note the extended hood with twin ridges or scooped door panels, plus that prominent galloping pony emblem clad in shiny chrome and mounted to a honeycomb grille.
With brawny exterior shapes and impressive power packages purring below the long hood, Mustang still warps the mind with lust for this slick set of wheels that feels good to drive and delivers fun in a racy package. Yet Mustang represents a narrow focus that's clearly retroactive: Detroit steel muscle pumped up with heady horsepower directed to the rear wheels.
