It’s rare that a grainy scan of some sort of printed material makes news, but buckle up. Someone might have leaked the front end design of the 2024 Ford Mustang.
This image was sent in to Steeda today by a friend of the Mustang tuning company, and it appears to show a high-performance variant of the next Mustang. Why am I tiptoeing around wording? Truthfully, all I know is that I’ve never seen a Mustang that looks like this before. Besides, if I had a dollar for every pixel in this photo, I’d have 75 cents. Still, 75 cents makes change and this photo shows a lot of changes that could potentially come to the 2024 Mustang.
So why are we so sure that this particular image contains a high-performance Mustang? Well, past Mustangs have only featured vertical grille slats and some form of hood vent on V8 models, plus there’s some sort of special fender emblem on display in the photo above. Also, take a look at those deep lower grilles; I think they look absolutely wicked. I’m not entirely sure if this particular Mustang features black wheels or if it’s just in motion for this shot. Likewise, I can’t actually make out what the fender emblems say. Do they indicate displacement, trim level or some sort of equipped package? At this resolution, it’s impossible to tell.
Regardless, the changes in this photo appear evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Think Ferrari 488 GTB versus Ferrari 458 Italia (I know, kinda random). While one grainy scan of a piece of printed material is nowhere near enough to go off of, Ford Authority has obtained a much clearer photograph of an actual Mustang with a front fascia we’ve never seen before. Let’s break it down.
This particular Mustang appears as if it could be a rest-of-world Ecoboost car, as evidenced by the small wheels, Euro-spec license plate bracket and mirrors similar to those on the current European-market Mustang. Starting from the top, the leading edge of the hood looks flatter and more prominent, a good tool for sharpening up a car’s look. The headlights return to a strong horizontal design similar to that of the 2015 Mustang, except these units are slimmer and feature three projector elements in each lamp. Moving down the front end, the grille mesh appears influenced by the 1967 Mustang, adopting a flatter, more trapezoidal shape. This iteration of the pony grille emblem features a satin finish, up to date with recent trends towards satin metals rather than chrome finishes.
Fairly standard stuff so far, but it’s about to get weird. Just as in the photograph of the silver car, the grille bezel on this black car doesn’t hug the lower edge of the grille mesh, instead plunging all the way down to be in-line with the lower corner grille accents. On this particular car, the black grille bezel hides well against the black paint, but it’s going to make for a very different look on brighter colors. Moving on to the lower grilles, a bit of current-generation Mustang Mach 1 influence is found in the angular dividers that section off the corner grilles. As for those corner grilles, they appear as if they may be fake on this particular unit and are trimmed in L-shaped accents on the outer and upper edges.
As for the lower center grille on this car, it appears largely functional and features a centered radar sensor, likely for advanced driver assist functions like adaptive cruise control. Finishing it all off is a thin, unpainted full-width, splitter-like trim piece that runs along the bottom of the front bumper.
In terms of authenticity, sources close to Ford have alleged that this photograph was taken inside one of Ford’s pilot plant facilities, but until we are certain about the provenance of these photos, all we can tell you is: “This Looks Like It Might Be It.” Meanwhile engineers within Ford are reading this and laughing at our ignorance. It’s okay; laugh away!
In any case, I’m a huge fan of the styling going on here. Both of these front fasciae in these images look aggressive yet refined, heaps more put-together than the current car’s front end with its L-shaped lamp assemblies. While we definitely can’t say for sure that the 2024 Ford Mustang will look exactly like these two leaked images, there is at least some likelihood that changes between the vehicle shown here and the production car will be minimal. If what we’re seeing is a current development vehicle, this could end up being close to what you see at dealers in a year and a half, as major design elements are usually frozen well before a car debuts — and the 2024 model isn’t that far away.
Even if this is how the next Mustang’s face looks, we’ve seen no rear end designs, so there’s still plenty left unknown. Though one thing we’re fairly sure of: There will be a V8.
Maybe it’s just me, but I see a lot of New Edge mustang in this. Oh god, that would mean the New Edge is old enough to be retro! That means I’m old enough to be retro! Oh god!!!
I just want to know when the 4 door comes out. Because personally this would make a great Taurus sho but meh for Stang.
With wood siding
New mustang says “HHHuuuuuuRRRR”
I thought when you wrote, “..looks like it might be it…” you were referring to its imminent demise.
2876 for the Mustang for the win!
…I can’t comment on that post for some reason…..and not this Mustang, you know what I’m trying to say right?
The lead in photo seemed to have hints of Honda and Acura. The headlights look Honda Civic and the lower outside front is some Acura. Maybe I’ve just been looking at too many Honda products lately.
I am though taking bets on whether the slim hood scoop/cut will be functional or cosmetic.
Cosmetic for sure. The current vents do pretty much fuckall
This new generation is very much an evolution, not a revolution. I expect the primary change to be in powertrain. I’m thinking Ecoboost, V8, and potentially a performance Hybrid of some kind. Visually I’m sure I’ll get used to it like I did with the 2018 refresh of the current generation (I got so used to it I bought one, an ecoboost last winter).
If they make a true electrified Hybrid with performance to match, then I’m VERY interested. I’m thinking it would have to be based off of the Ecoboost for packaging, but that’s not a problem considering it gets just over 300HP without any electrification, and likely wouldn’t suffer any handling issues in excess of what the GT has in comparison to the Ecoboost’s lighter front-end.
From what I’ve read, a hybrid sounds unlikely. But AWD is a real possibility. I really like the S550, so an evolution is fine by me. A V8 with AWD and a stick is going to be tough to pass up for me. The only thing that will kill it is ugliness. And these spy photos don’t really sway me one way or the other.
After a morning trying to figure out the statistics on the Russian missile cruiser Moskva (possibly about to be promoted to submarine), I was very confused for two seconds as to why a car badge would reference displacement.
In regards to that emblem on the side, 2024 will be the 60th anniversary of the Mustang. For the past three decades or so there’s been a special side emblem for anniversary cars, right?
I think that’s more likely than anything else.
That silver concept render reminds me of the VA WRX a bit. All the shapes are the same, they just turned the border thickness slider down.
I’ll reserve judgement, but it has that Patrick Star-unibrow look to it.
meh.. There was a time when I might have cared what the new Mustang looked like. I probably would have been excited to know it was getting a V8 option…Now I’d be more interested in finding out the Mach E was available with a Timberline package so I could feel tough in the drop-off loop at the elementary school. This realization has left me a little sad….
I totally get this. When I was young I loved cheap performance. Now I love quiet luxury with performance and shake my head at tuned Mustangs who’s drivers rev their loud exhaust as they roll through the neighborhood.
… Looking at you family down the street with 2x gen 5s, 1x gen 6, a new bronco and ranger tremor… All modified to be as loud as possible.
“ we’ve seen no rear end designs, so there’s still plenty left unknown”
No, I think we know. The rear bumper cover will be ripped off and the right rear suspension broken from the power oversteer into the curb.
Looks like it has the now commonplace frontal droop to meet pedestrian impact standards. I guess we all get frontal droop with age.
@autopian crew: I love what you’re doing here! Keep up the good work. One request: Can the website be updated so that when you click the login to comment button it returns you to the article you were reading/wanting to comment on rather than landing you at your user profile? Thanks!
It looks a bit like the designers had the same problem from that recent Autopian post about the front of the clay model falling off and only being held on by the wrap… except in this case they didn’t have time to fix it before the suits walked in, loved it, and approved it.
If it follows the trend line on weight they can just rename it the “Clydesdale”.
That’s what they should have named the Mach-E and kept all thing Mustang off the car. I’m so against the Mach-E naming* that I won’t even use the word Mustang. I just pronounce its name as the Mawkie.
*The ‘Mawkie’ is a fine car. Nothing outside of the name is wrong with it really.
I pronounce it “mosh” after the salad green Mâche.
Really missed the opportunity to call the Lincoln one Mark E.
I’ve test driven the Mach E, and it does handle itself pretty well. I’d probably keep all the pony cues and styling on the thing (including the badge) and just called it the Maverick instead, much like Porsche doesn’t call the Macan a Carrera 4L.
And then the current Maverick can be the Courier.
I realize this is recency bias at full tilt, but is this new Mustang like the Rapport Ritz of the previous gen Mustang? Is everyone else here able to ignore this correlation!?!?! Look at the aggro flat headlight / upper grill brow. It’d be a lot cooler if it popped up…
Please make “the Rapport Ritz of” a common expression.
As someone that’s in the position to put a LOT of words down on this website. I kind of feel like the task falls in your hands, just a little.
Nuff said.
This is the Rapport Ritz of comments.
I’ll need better photos to form judgement but off that single picture.. not a fan.
If you zoom in a bit and squint that logo on the fender looks vaguely like 2.3..
This was my thought too. Looks like the “2.3” badges that kids put on their base model Mustangs. They do make me chuckle every time. Usually you debadge a base model, not add a badge to let people know you have the slow version.
2.3 badges on mustangs signal that the car has the high-performance pack. 330 horsepower, 350 torques, front splitter, belly pan, brake cooling stuff, bigger brakes, better suspension and swaybars, can get magnaride and active exhaust as well.
It IS slower than a GT, but the 0-60 is 5.2 seconds compared to 4.4 for the Performance pack GT and 5.1 for the base GT. What makes the difference is that the Ecoboost handles better because it’s not being weighed down by a big V8 engine.
That reads like a lot of compensating. It’s ok if you like the Ecoboost. But the V8 is great, and that’s why people like it. Hell, the V6 mustang is still a fun car! Everyone can like what they want to and it’s all ok.
I was mostly listing all that stuff to say that the base model of the ecoboost has no side badging on the quarter, and the ones with the 2.3L badge the commenter was alluding to are a little more performance oriented than most would imagine.
Lol, time to get some 2.3 badges and smack them on the side of the minivan.
I’m getting a vague ’76 Capri vibe from the front end in the header image.