Ford Mustang to drop exclusive platform for 2021, AWD possible

The Ford Mustang is looking at a major redesign for 2021, and that overhaul is shaping up to include a shift toward one of five new modular architectures. Currently the Mustang uses an exclusive rear-wheel-drive platform, but next time around it might share its bones with rear- and all-wheel-drive crossovers or SUVs.

According to Ford, this change would make the Mustang more flexible while also instilling its performance-car DNA into the rest of the company lineup. It also might be the trick to an adding an all-wheel-drive Mustang to compete with the Challenger GT. Muscle car fans of the north rejoice—that’s cake you could potentially have and eat.

The scoop comes from Automotive News, which spoke with the Mustang team. While details are slim, the team indicated that the new modular architecture would not hinder the car’s design. And Carl Widmann, chief engineer for the Mustang, went so far as to say the modular architecture would not fundamentally change the car.

This might be just the start of the Mustang DNA appearing elsewhere in the Ford lineup. Alongside a hybrid Mustang, a Mustang-inspired electric crossover is due in 2020. The latter, which is expected to be an Explorer-like unibody crossover, will likely crib much of the Mustang’s front-end design. Ford floated the idea at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit that the EV crossover could be called the Mach 1, but the overwhelmingly negative response from people seems to have (fortunately) put that initiative to rest.

The current sixth-generation Mustang has seen small changes and even the return of some special editions. Losing the V-6 engine and bringing back the Bullitt haven’t so far managed to increase sales (down 4.8 percent this year), but the Mustang is currently outselling the Camaro and Challenger.