Photo: Instagram/@wb.artist20
Introduced in 1978 as a 1979 model year and kept in production until late 1993, the third-generation Ford Mustang is the longest-running iteration of the nameplate. It is also the second best seller, with over 2.6 million units sold in the United States of America.
The Mustang is probably Ford’s most popular product in the entire car universe. The Model T and F-Series pickups could be much higher than that in sales – and perhaps even in importance. The pony car would be the first answer a non-American with the faintest automotive awareness would give to the impossible question, ‘Can you name an American car?’
The first-generation Mustang debuted in April 1964. It lasted a decade, leaving behind a track record of nearly three million examples—definitely a hit for the Blue Oval. At the height of Malaise, the third iteration of the name was released – the famous generation of the Fox body, which spans an amazing 15 years.
It turned out to be an extremely popular decision, not only for the Mustang, but for all other Fox-bodied Fords – the platform lasted 26 years in production, the second-longest in Ford history, behind the 33-year-old Panther platform released in 1979. But that’s all history now, except for the same generation of pony cars that have been rolling out of Ford facilities ever since the first ever Mustang.
While the first generation is a true automotive demigod, the Fox body is definitely a mythic hero – and one that is still beloved to this day (and probably will be even more so as time goes on). Of course, with humanity’s rapid collapse into the age of digital chaos, the body of the Fox Mustang became a popular canvas for pixel strife.
The big news from Ford these days is the new Capri – another Blue Oval icon stepping into one Sports utility vehicle. As if the misery wasn’t as unbearable as it was, the third-millennium Capri is also electric. Cypher was right when he told Agent Smith, ‘Ignorance is bliss‘ – that’s where I want to go now, to a realm where computers make up reality.
Hold that thought – I believe we’re halfway there, I just don’t have to go anywhere – the hexadecimal invasion is upon us. It brings much juicier goodness than that non-existent steak in the Matrix. Like a 2024 Fox Body Mustang with all the bells and whistles of both ages – and nothing wrong with either.
Courtesy of Oscar Vargas of Houston, Texas, a car designer identified by his social media handle wb.artist20, the body of the Fox Mustang is alive – on the other side of the computer-generated imagery. It features retro 1993 SVT Cobra vibes that end dramatically at the bottom of the beveled rear window, right on the deck. The trunk makes it a bit too tall to fit into the Fox Ford Mustang’s traditional body compact category, and may remind some nostalgics of the Honda/Acura Legend.
The 20-inch wheels shod in 255/35 Pirellis leave little to the imagination. The wide body kit, low rider stance, Skyline side lines and rear spoiler would tempt us to believe you could smoke tires in make-believe land. The vents and quad pipes at the other end would make the Oil Producing and Exporting Countries roll over with delight – and why not? The Mustang is a wild horse and that’s what it should always be.
Inside is a 2024 Mustang GT graft – at least it’s in the family – and the stick shift is the last convenience before Ford’s brass hats bring in who-knows-what nightmare idea of restoration. Instead of bringing back the past, it seems they’d rather dismember the dead and turn them into electric zombies, with the Mach-E Mustang and Capri as the archangels of the apocalypse.