Ford Mustang: Mustang by Giugiaro
Italdesign creates one-off reinterpretation of pony car with 500bhp V8
His father, Giorgetto, designed a Mustang concept in 1965 when he worked for Bertone, and now Fabrizio Giugiaro, working for his dad’s firm, Italdesign, has added the family touch to the existing Mustang – with father apparently lending assistance to son.
‘Mustang by Giugiaro’ is purely a concept car, but it has the full backing of Ford: J Mays, design chief and group vice president in the US, gave his approval to the project in the first instance, and Ford Racing provided a 500bhp supercharged V8 motor and race-car suspension.
The Giugiaro-designed Mustang is 30mm wider at the front than the production version and 80mm broader at the rear. It also features doors that open vertically, Lambo-style, small rear fins akin to those of the original 1964 Mustang, a bolder tail-light treatment, a longer bonnet, and a lower, full-glass roof coated with a special crystal that filters out 100 per cent of UVA rays.
In a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that the Mustang has always been known as a ‘pony’ car, Giugiaro has trimmed the interior of the concept in piebald horse-skins.
Ford Racing has liberated another 200 horses from the standard 4.6-litre motor with the addition of its home-grown supercharger, fuel injectors from the Ford GT, and improved breathing and cooling. The chassis is upgraded with the Ford Racing Handling Pack, a set-up inspired by the FR500C off-the-shelf race car.
