Reports: Next-Gen Mustang to Ride on Explorer Platform

Ford Motor Co. will build its next-generation Mustang muscle car on the same platform that carries the redesigned Explorer and all-new Lincoln Aviator SUVs, according to multiple media reports.

As a result, the next Mustang likely will be larger than the current model—and possibly as big as its Dodge Challenger rival, Automobile reports. The Challenger rides on a 116-inch wheelbase and stretches to nearly 198 inches overall.

By comparison, the current Mustang has a 107-inch wheelbase and measures 188 inches from bumper to bumper. The sixth-generation pony car, which was launched as a 2015 model, is the only vehicle that uses the architecture.

The 2020 Explorer, which will bow this summer, switches back to a rwd platform from the front-drive configuration and transversely mounted engine that was adopted in 2011. Unlike earlier Explorers that rode on a truck-based body-on-frame construction, the new “CD6” design is a unibody chassis that can accommodate longitudinal engine configurations.

Most Ford and Lincoln rwd vehicles are expected to use the CD6 platform in coming years. This will include the high-volume Edge, which is due for a redesign in 2021, to further boost economies of scale.

It’s not clear when the next-generation Mustang will be introduced. Some media reports say the program has been delayed several times and may not be launched for at least seven years. A mid-cycle freshening is expected within the next three years, and likely will yield a hybrid variant.