60 Years of Mustang: S550 (6th Generation, 2015-2023)
Amidst a global recession, Ford CEO Alan Mullaly enacts a plan to unite Ford, bringing the Mustang to over 100 countries and record sales.
Six weeks from today, on April 17, the Mustang turns 60 years young! So we’re celebrating each with a new Mustang history article each week, one for all seven Mustang generations. Last week, we kicked things off with the S650. This week, we’re pivoting to the sixth-generation S550 Mustang. And next week, we’ll be going back in time to the fifth-generation S197. We hope you’ll help us celebrate!
UPDATE. We’re celebrating the Mustang’s 60th Birthday by looking back at every single generation. Here is the full series!
- The Original Pony Car (1st Generation Part I, 1964-1968)
- The Muscle Mustang (1st Generation Part II, 1969-1973)
- Mustang II (2nd Generation, 1974-1978)
- Fox Body (3rd Generation, 1979-1993)
- SN95 (4th Generation, 1994-2004)
- S197 (5th Generation, 2005-2014)
- S550 (6th Generation, 2015-2023)
- S650 Mustang (7th Generation)
- Saleen: The History of One of Ford’s Greatest Tuning Firms
- The History of Roush: A Household Name in Fast Fords
As Ford’s premiere sports car, the Mustang offers American customers an affordable means to get involved in the world of motorsport. As of 2009, that philosophy remained central to the pony car for 45 years. However, massive financial and cultural shifts around the world forced Ford to take a good, hard look at its business model. And with that change came a radical shift for the Mustang as well.
Ford owns divisions all over the world, with the most popular being Ford Europe and Australia. And in 2006 just before the global recession hit, Ford had no fewer than 94 platforms. With all the logistics, parts, tooling, and support infrastructure to support them. This represented a massive headache for a corporation looking towards globalization. To cut a long story short, CEO Alan Mullaly issued the “One Ford” strategy.
Essentially, Ford sought to consolidate a wide range of models across multiple markets, creating parts-commonality between each branch. To accomplish this, the company began cross-developing cars for several markets, including the US and Europe. The most obvious examples we see on this side of the Atlantic being cars like the Transit, Fiesta, and Fusion/Mondeo. Overseas, production began on cars like the EcoSport as well. Within the span of 10 years, Ford completely remodeled their global image. With brand-new models to boot. They included the Mustang, of course.
Which, by its sixth-generation, became a truly globetrotting horse.
Developing the Mustang for a Global Market
Ford commenced development of the sixth-gen Mustang, codenamed S550, in 2009. Chief engineer Dave Pericak and exterior design director Joel Plaskowski selected a design proposal from German-Austrian designer Kemal Curić. The proposal went through years of development across several exterior and interior designers. And this created a truly multicultural Mustang, with clear influences from both European and American archetypes. It gained a more flowing, curvy shape than the preceding model. However, it preserved the traditional fastback design along with those ubiquitous headlights and taillights.
It took three years and as many design templates before Ford selected a final theme. They froze the design in December 2012, with production scheduled for August 2014. Just a few months after the 50th Anniversary of the Mustang on April 17. Ford had intended to globalize the Mustang from the outset, marketing it across Europe, China, Australia, and South America. This led to several firsts for the model, such as being the first factory right-hand drive Mustang. And it marked the first time Ford equipped a Mustang with a turbo inline-4 since 1986’s SVO. A brand-new variant of the EcoBoost in 2.3L format, which debuted with the 2015 Mustang.
These developments served a growing marketplace shift among the Big Three. GM, Chrysler, and Ford’s friendly rivalry spilled overseas, as they jostled for a market of dwindling car sales. But thanks to their innovations and marketing, the Mustang firmly established itself within Europe and Australia. As of 2022, Ford had sold 67,816 Mustangs in Europe and 33,491 in Australia. Making up a total 12% of sales. A hugely massive improvement over the previous generation, which only managed 7,394 sales in Europe out of over a million sold.
The Race Horses
Of course, Ford wouldn’t give up on designing America’s premiere affordable sports car without some “sports.” In the S550’s case, this came in the form of a wide variety of special editions. No fewer than ten officially sold at dealers, in fact. These include aftermarket additions like the Saleen S302 and the Roush RS. As well as an obligatory 50th Anniversary Edition in 2015. Then you have the Bullitt, GT Performance Pack Level 2, Mach 1, and more. Each GT and above model came with a Modular V8 in a variety of flavors. The majority of which being the Coyote, sporting between 435 horsepower in its earliest US spec to 480 in the Bullitt and Mach 1. But in terms of raw power, no sixth-gen compares to the Shelbys.
First up, the GT350. It debuted in 2015 with the initial Mustang release. It sported a new hand-built 5.2L Voodoo V8, pushing 526 horsepower and 429 lb/ft torque. It’s a flat-plane crank, designed for high-revving performance with peak power at 8,250 RPM. Alongside this, Ford released the GT350R, which became one of the rarest production Mustangs ever. Ford only produced 37 units during the initial model year, with the first selling at auction for $1 million. All GT350s came equipped with a Tremec TR-3160 6-speed manual gearbox, and all the usual appointments. Ford tuned them for balance and grip, lending them some seriously competitive speed on the racing circuit.
The GT350 ran until 2020, when it was supplanted by the absolutely monstrous GT500. Which upon its debut, became the single most powerful production Mustang at the time. Its 5.2L supercharged Predator V8 produced a terrific 760 horsepower and 625 lb/ft torque, inducting the Mustang into the 700-horsepower club for the first time. Much like the GT350, the GT500 came well-equipped from the factory. However, Ford only released them with a 7-speed DCT, as opposed to the manual. They remain among the fastest Mustangs around a track to this day.
The S550 ran its course by 2023. However, the model didn’t go out with a whimper, with the final special edition bearing a familiar name: Mach 1. Introduced in 2021, the Mach 1 came equipped with a variety of components ripped from both Shelbys. It produced 480 horsepower from the Coyote in 2021, then 470 in subsequent years thanks to rising emissions standards. And, of course, it sported the famous black trim along the hood.
The Fruits of Their Labor
Ford produced over 800,000 S550 Mustangs globally from 2015-2023, making this among the most popular by numbers sold. Undoubtedly helped by a plethora of options and features, as well as a wealth of support for the export market. Ford’s “One Ford” strategy ultimately paid off, as they consolidated a number of models into a singular brand-image. Vehicles like the Focus, Fiesta, and Transit proved popular in the US. And the Mustang established a solid foothold on European and Australian soil for the first time. Ford built and shipped everyone from the Flat Rock Plant, effectively spearheading their new global brand. Moreover, in 2020, the Mustang officially became the world’s best-selling sports car. It hit dealerships across 146 countries, more than any other Mustang by far.
Like all previous generations, this Mustang continued the trend of offering a huge amount of options. From functional stuff like a variety of powertrains and running gear, to premium comforts like GPS, satellite radio, infotainment with smartphone integration, and more. You could spec a Mustang almost however you wanted, a tradition which earned its appeal for 50 years at this point. And one which paid off in dividends for Ford, who rode the Mustang through the worst of the economic recessions of recent years.
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