2015 Ford Mustang Mule Confirms Independent Rear Suspension

The 2015 Ford Mustang will say goodbye to its Pony Car heritage and embrace its future as a legitimate sports car, in the process tossing aside its solid-rear axle for an independent rear suspension.

A rumor for years, new spy photos recently captured show a test mule for the 2015 Mustang, even revealing its underside. And in the place of the archaic solid rear axle are what appear to be aluminum control arms. We won’t know for sure for quite some time now if the production model will get this setup, especially as Ford has admitted the current generation ‘Stang tested out a similar independent rear suspension but eventually went with the solid axle.

Making it all but certain, however, is the fact that Ford has been obvious that it plans on transforming the Mustang for its 50th anniversary. Included in the overhaul is styling inspired by the Evos concept (and similar to that found on modern Ford products like the 2013 Fusion). To give a better idea of exactly how that might look, we’ve commissioned the rendering above.

Also set to help revolutionize the 2015 Mustang is an EcoBoost engine, most likely a twin-turbo V6.

Many in the Mustang faithful will protest the dramatic change for the 2015 model year car, but Ford has good reason for the change. Apart from corporate ambitions to take on European sports cars, Ford has to think about the future of the iconic nameplate – something that’s currently in jeopardy as Generation Y turns away from Pony Cars towards new-era vehicles like the Hyundai Genesis Coupe.

[Source: Car & Driver]