The Mustang is coming! The 2023 Mustang is coming, and Ford is promising to make some news about the seventh-generation coupe tonight, Friday 8/19/22 at 7:30 p.m. EDT.
How much we’ll learn is far from certain, especially as the automaker previously announced plans for the formal public debut of the pony car to take place during the North American International Auto Show next month.
But here’s what we already know about the 2023 Ford Mustang.
The rumors have been flying
There’ve been plenty of rumors flying in recent weeks, among other things, some “experts” predicting we could see the first all-electric version of the classic Mustang coupe. That’s all but certainly not in the cards, our own sources tell us at TheDetroitBureau.com. We’ll have to wait until sometime after mid-decade to see the coupe go all-electric, Ford preferring to stick with its classic muscle, including updated V-8 configurations, for now.
That said, the automaker already confirmed that a conventional hybrid will be part of the mix for the next-generation Mustang.
Sticking with internal combustion technology is a winning formula, or so several Ford insiders contend. After all, Dodge will be abandoning the familiar Challenger and Charger models at the end of the 2023 model year, shifting to an all-electric replacement in 2024 based off the Charger Daytona SRT concept it revealed this week. And Chevrolet is believed heading in the same direction with an all-electric replacement for the weak-selling Camaro.
Codename S650
The new Mustang — known inside Ford by the codename S650 — isn’t just a rehash of the outgoing pony car. There’s the new hybrid, for one thing. And you can expect that gas-electric drivetrain to be tuned to deliver a hefty dose of power, rather than just focus on fuel economy.
How many other variants will be available is one of the questions we hope Ford will answer, whether on Friday or during the auto show event next month. At the bottom end, expect to see the 2.3-liter inline-4 to stick around, making around 320 hp for the 2023 model year. Less certain is whether the 760-hp GT500 will remain in the mix and, if so, what sort of package we’ll find under the hood.
Almost certainly, Ford has taken steps to stiffen up the S650 platform to improve the handling of the seventh-generation Mustang. That is one of the few real weaknesses of the outgoing car.
And, in keeping with current trends, expect to see the coupe loaded up with new digital technology, including the latest version of Ford’s Sync5 infotainment system.
A big year ahead
This is a big year for Ford, the Mustang celebrating its 60th anniversary on April 17, 2023. So, the automaker also plans to launch a new Mustang GT3 race car that will debut at the Rolex 24 in Daytona on Jan. 30.
Look for an update after Ford’s announcement Friday evening.
