Fourth Generation Mustangs

In 1994 came the long awaited redesign of the Ford Mustang. For the first time the Mustang can equipped with anti-lock brakes. Also in 1994, for the first time since 1987, Ford redesigned the Mustangs ECU to make it better suit CAFE's standards. In 1994 Ford released an Ultra high performance version of the Mustang known as the Cobra R. In order to keep the government environmental watch dogs off their backs; Ford made perspective buyers present their competition licenses and track performance records before purchasing one of these elite Mustangs. This was due to the fact that these vehicles weren't quite emissions friendly.

In 1995 the government lifted the nationwide 55 miles per hour speed limit. 1995 also proved to be the last year for the 5.0L engine in the Mustang. Ford decided to produce a new engine for the Mustang because they were still using a modified version of an engine that had been around since 1961. Due to the rigorous emissions and economy standards, Ford decided it was time to develop a modular engine design because it was much more cost effective to meet emission standards while maintaining the performance they were striving to improve. The 4.6L engine offered almost identical performance as the 5.0L while being much more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly.

From 1996 to 2004 horsepower increased significantly, but not much changed from an environmental standpoint.

These images came from:

Brad Barnett. "Mustang Timeline". December 2006 http://bradbarnett.net/mustangs/ (February 12, 2007)

The information for this page came from:

Brad Barnett. "Mustang Timeline". December 2006 http://bradbarnett.net/mustangs/ (February 12, 2007)

and

NewHardt, David and Randy Leffingwell. Mustang The Complete Story. Hong Kong: Crestline, 2005.

1994 Mustang

1996 Mustang Saleen

1998 Mustang

2000 Mustang Cobra R

2003 Mustang Cobra