Ford hails historic Mustang moment

Ford Australia CEO Kay Hart has hailed today’s official launch of the Mustang Supercar as a historic moment for the car company.

Following an initial reveal in camouflage colours during testing late last year, Ford has unveiled the new Supercar’s true look.

The long-awaited Mustang Supercar replaces the FG X Falcon, which has been out of production since October 2016, and marks an official return to the category for Ford.

Its backing of the project including engineering work from Ford Performance in the United States, and input from its Ford Asia Pacific Design Studio.

“This is an historic moment,” said Hart, pictured above with Tim Edwards, Ryan Story, Sean Seamer, Dick Johnson and Phil Munday.

“To see the project come together has been incredibly exciting for everyone involved, and today marks the start of Mustang’s 2019 season.

“Mustang belongs on the track and everyone at Ford and our fans have been waiting for this moment.”

Supercars CEO Sean Seamer also declared it a big moment for the championship.

The Mustang is the first two-door body shape to be adapted to the control Supercars chassis, joining Holden’s hatchback ZB Commodore and Nissan’s Altima sedan on the 2019 grid.

“For Supercars, the Mustang ushers in a new era,” said Seamer.

“It’s a product that you see readily on the road, it’s been super successful for Ford globally and here in Australia, and it gives the opportunity to reach younger and older generations with a fantastic looking race car.”

American arm proud of input

While DJR Team Penske handled the bulk of the Mustang Supercar’s local design work, Ford Performance provided key resources to develop the aerodynamic package.

The Detroit-based Ford Performance’s Computational Fluid Dynamics prowess has been lauded as a big influence on the final shape of the vehicle.

“I’m really proud of the team in North America, and I’m really proud of the team down in Australia,” said Ford Performance’s Motorsport Supervisor Brian Novak.

“We use the same processes to develop the Supercar that we do the NASCAR Mustang, that we do the Mustang GT4, that we do the NHRA Funny Car Mustang.

“That development has been proven out through other programs – the Ford GT at Le Mans for example – and we then transfer that back, that knowledge, back to the road car.”

Six Mustangs will compete in this year’s championship; two from DJR Team Penske and four from Tickford Racing.