Ford Mustang 48th Anniversary: Car Undergoes Makeover For 2015

The strategic move by Ford is meant so that the car, which debuted on April 17, 1964, at the New York World's Fair, will appeal to a younger audience and ultimately stop sagging sales.

Car Insiders who've seen the Mustang makeover describe the vehicle as something that follows the design of another concept that Ford has recently shown off.  

It's almost a body double for the [Ford] Evo's concept, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The next-generation mustang is expected to be smaller and sleeker than the 2012 model, as the company gears up to attract a much larger market overseas.

A sign that they haven't forgotten about their market in the states, the design is also said to be in anticipation of new US fuel efficiency standards, according to Popular Hot Rodding Magazine.

This summer, the Obama Administration drastically raised the target for the required average fuel economy rating to a stratospheric 56.2 mpg by 2025, the magazine wrote.

This will change the performance car landscape as we know it, and hopefully not as we saw in the 1970s, they added.

As the current Mustang model features rounded headlamps, a shark-like nose, three-element taillamps, radial chromed air vents and a retro-inspired three-spoke steering wheel, Ford is looking to shave at least 200-300 pounds from the current car's 3,600-pound curb weight

While it is the 48th anniversary of the mustang, the new design won't be released to the public until the 50th anniversary of the car in 2015.

Even with recent hikes in gas prices, the top-of-the-line Mustangs are likely to continue offering V8 engines, both normally aspirated and blown, with six-speed manual and automatic transmissions.

There is also rumors of a larger-displacement version of the twin-turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder engine, supposedly around 2.5 liters with output of around 300 horsepower.

Last year Ford sold 70,438 units, down 4.4% from 2010 and less than half the 166,530 it sold in 2006. Chevrolet's redesigned Camaro and Chrysler's Challenger each outsold their historical rival last month, according to the Wall Street Journal

Changing the Mustang's look is a risky move for Ford because the car has such a big following, Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with researcher IHS Automotive Inc., told the WSJ.

Ford has had so much success with the retro Mustang, there is significant risk of going somewhat away from it...you have to evolve the design, but it is a risk to change it too fast or radically, she added.

Ford will launch the 2015 Mustang at the 2014 New York Auto Show - virtually 50 years to the day the original '64.5 model was unveiled, According to Inside Line