Ford - Mustang - IRS

Prior Blog Posts by Date

This is a subset of Ford Motor Corporation topics on my site, pertaining solely to the IRS suspension on the Ford Mustang. We'll cover both the one on the 99-04 SVT Cobra, as well as the missing IRS suspension that was designed for the S197 Mustang (2005-2009) but canceled before production due to budget constraints.

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Index of prior posts by title

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prior blog postings by date.


Saturday, March 15, 2008  

 2010 Camaro IRS
 

Yes, folks it has an IRS. No solid axle is available. And are the Camaro enthusiasts whining about it? NO. They don't whine like Mustang enthusiasts do when an IRS is mentioned. The Camaro is rapidly shaping up to be what the Mustang isn't.

Follow along on Camaro5.com.

2010 Camaro IRS

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Thursday, August 23, 2007  

 Interested in the Interceptor? Join the conversation...
 

You may not be aware that Ford runs it's own blog covering auto shows and concepts:

Lots of topics are under discussion - and you can add your comments without registering. One of the more lengthy "conversations" concerns the Interceptor concept.

Follow along here. Note that you can subscribe via RSS to the comments of this or any particular thread:

The Interceptor is one of the more promising concepts built recently by Ford... a 5 liter DOHC aluminum V-8, a short/long-arm front suspension, and the infamous "missing" IRS that was supposed to be offering as part of the canceled SVT Cobra (which is not what was delivered as the "Shelby GT500").

Of course none of these features will show up in production in exactly this form: we know that this car can't be built on a Mustang S197 platform (which is dated and due for phase out in a couple of years anyway), we know we won't ever get a 5-liter "modular" engine into production because it's can't meet production durability standards, and we know that somewhere there is a new RWD platform being developed in Australia for production sometime after 2012 or so that would be intended as a global platform and would have to be used. So the Interceptor is nothing more than a concept, an idea of what could be several years out.

So enjoy the "idea" of an Interceptor... and keep your fingers crossed that in another 5 or 6 years something like this might appear.

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Tuesday, April 24, 2007  

 Ford Interceptor showcar - suspension
 

Ford Interceptor showcar suspensionThis is the only known photo of the Interceptor showcar showing the suspension.

While it was basically built on a stretched Mustang floorpan, there is actually much more to it than that.

The Interceptor has an SLA front suspension instead of the Mustang's antiquated struts.

And look carefully - in the rear it has the IRS that was developed for the Mustang from the start - but cut for cost purposes at the last moment.

The Interceptor was built for more than show - it's an engineering evaluation project for one potential rear wheel drive production vehicle. The other alternative is the Australian Falcon replacement coming up in a year.

You'll notice that the front suspension is neatly done - tucked close to the frame to allow big tires no interference with the engine. The lower arm is aluminum and the upper is an iron alloy common to suspension components (you've seen it before in the SN95 IRS upper arms). 

And the rear IRS has a nice big lower control arm, in aluminum, and with broad mouning points. It's an SLA type again, rather than the cheaper (but perhaps more robust) trailing arm type (recently adopted by the Explorer and Expedition).

These same components were also used for the Lincoln MKR.

So this is nice, and brings the S197 chassis into the 21st century. The big question is, of course, when will we see it? Or if. With little engineering budget, a looming bankruptcy, with a limited market, and with CAFE increases looming - will a rear wheel drive 4-door platform ever see the light of day at Ford of North America again?

GM has already put it's own platform of this type on hold, except for the Camaro program (already too far along) and the imported Pontiac (from Australia). That platform was to have been used for a new Impala, as well as an unnamed Buick program. Those are now on hold.

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Monday, April 16, 2007  

 Lincoln MKR Video
 

Mays, J

Excellent video on the Lincoln MKR concept.  

After seeing this, I understand the role that classic Lincoln heritage played in the design of the MKR.

http://powerhost.powerstream.net/002/00363/det_lincoln_mkr.wmv

What I don't understand is whether or not this could be built: specifically, what platform would be used? With the upcoming Falcon platform, Ford has a much more sophisticated platform than the overweight and crude Mustang platform. Which was what was used here - complete with parts it doesn't offer natively: an IRS and a SLA front suspension.

We could say "we told you so" when they removed those parts as the Lincoln LS chassis was downgraded for the Mustang.

 

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Friday, February 23, 2007  

 Good Riddance Hau Thai-Tang
 

Good news yesterday from Edmunds Inside Line: Hau Thai-Tang, the director of advanced product creation and the moribund SVT, has left to take over product development for Ford of Brazil.

He'll be remembered as the person who took the SVT product line from all-around performance vehicles (handling dynamics over power) to the ultimately self-defeating morass of morbidly-obese straight-line ego-driven muscledom.  Granted, his budget was repeatedly cut, but he didn't help his company or retain SVT customers when he carelessly made public product promises followed by defensive retractions such as "We'll never appease those IRS snobs". Critical product features were cancelled; entire product product plans were set aside.

So good riddance, and a kick in the ass on the way out.

Now hopefully SVT can get:

  1. back to it's roots and core values (since its current mission is nothing more than a virtual team of subject matter specialists)
  2. budget to build all-around performance cars (handling dynamics over power) that showcase what company engineers are truly capable of accomplishing.
  3. product testing procedures to ensure future SVT-led products perform well in wider ranges of temperatures across a wider variety of climates (such as what we in Texas consider the norm) and environments (open track events). SVT has had a severe reliability issue that resulted in Cobras and Ford GTs that can't survive aggressive open track events (SVT On Track's own Ford GT repeatedly failed and garked it's fluid on many tracks across the country - in front of many fans - before finally being retired).

And, hopefully, Ford will:

  1. think twice about putting a defensive self-promoting stooge in charge of a product line that had earned an enthusiast following in both buyers and in the press. 
  2. try (yet again) to understand the value to the company of mature multi-dimensional products designed for driving enthusiasts.

We've seen so many "golded ages" of performance products from Ford come and go in the past 20 years:

  • Don Peterson and the original Mustang SVO ("form follows function")
  • the (recently terminated) sponsorship of the Bondurant school (and the requirements for Ford Engineers to attend)
  • the emphasis on all-around dynamics in the early SVT products (culminating in the promising but flawed 1999 Cobra)
  • balanced vehicles such as the SVT Contour and Focus (even though the Focus was market-obsolete before it was delivered)
  • the original good intentions behind the fatally flawed Ford GT

Will there ever be a performance product plan inside Ford that can sustain itself? Can Ford learn from it's mistakes?

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