Ford News
Mustang GT Concepts: The Interior
By Ford Media
Jan 5, 2003 - 9:13:00 PM

Overview | Design | Interior Design | Timeline | Technical Specs | Photo Gallery

The Mustang GT convertible concept's interior showcases a level of refinement never offered in the pony-car segment

The view from behind the wheel of a Mustang GT concept is as good as the view from afar. The Mustang GT concept vehicles put the driver and the passenger in a most enviable place – the future of the pony car.

While the evocative unmistakable exterior designs draw admirers, it is the inviting interiors that demand closer inspection. The modern interior designs pay homage to another era in Mustang history while their use of high-quality materials, precision craftsmanship and technical innovations point to Mustangs to come.

The Mustang GT coupe and convertible concept cars’ interiors are awash in supple red and charcoal leather and accented with billet-aluminum hardware that gives an appearance that is robust and highly technical.

“These incredible interiors speak volumes about where Mustang and Ford are headed in the future,” said J Mays, Ford Motor Company, vice president, Design. “The functional, contemporary look of this interior and its precise execution set a new standard for muscle car design.”

Two-Place concepts

Upon opening the door, both driver and passenger will see the Ford logo proudly displayed on a billet-aluminum sill panels.

The interior includes perforated red leather surfaces on the seat backs and steering wheel, as well as a billet-aluminum shifter for the 5-speed automatic transmission, four-point racing-style seatbelts and unique instrument gauges that look like a fine watch with its face removed.

Unlike production Mustangs, the Mustang GT concepts have only two seats – racing-inspired with red perforated leather. The interiors of the GT coupe and convertible are executed with the same performance characteristics, with the coupe configuration boasting a key element more typical of racing. Instead of a 2+2 design, the Mustang GT coupe’s strut support linking the two rear shock towers serves as the primary hold down for a backseat mounted spare tire. Consistent with the trim throughout the interior, a billet-aluminum strut brace holds the tire in place. Early Shelby racers used this functional design.

Four-point harnesses brace the occupants for what they see next. The cluster instrumentation is unique, but features a familiar, round optical look. The mechanicals of the display resemble the movement of a fine timepiece. As the driver stirs gearbox, the tachometer and speedometer put on a show like no other car. The bezels of the gauges are trimmed with sprocket gears around the inner circumference. Rather than using needle pointers, the gauges feature a small, gear-driven, trolley scored with indicator lines that rides around the inside of the bezel matching the rpms and groundspeed.

The upper brow of the dash is covered in charcoal leather, reminiscent of past era Mustangs. From that point down, a billet-aluminum band makes the transition to the future. Two air vents and an analog clock form the center cluster. Below the trio, a row of cockpit switches allow the driver to control suspension as well as set the air/fuel mixture.

The center stack displays a boost gauge for the supercharged engine. The gauge gives the driver a visual indication of actual boost from a lean to rich mixture. The circular gauge uses an analog indicator similar to those found in the vehicle’s tachometer and speedometer.

The billet-aluminum shifter controls six manual gears in the coupe and five automatic gears in the convertible, each transmission contributing to the concepts’ athletic, muscle-car acceleration capability. A similarly designed parking-brake lever is positioned nearby on the console.

Like the 1967 model, the steering wheel has three spokes with a center hub marked by the Mustang GT logo in a precision typeface, a cue that carries over to the front quarterpanel and fender badging. From a distance, it harkens to the original GT bold font. Up close, “Mustang” is inlaid underneath: two components wedded into a single, simple statement.

The cluster gauges, three-spoke steering wheel and innovative cockpit dash design are clear cues from a rich Mustang history, but there is no denying that Ford’s new Mustang GT concepts’ celebrate that heritage in a dramatically modern interpretation of the future.


Overview | Design | Interior Design | Timeline | Technical Specs | Photo Gallery