New Ford Mustang said to be coming in 2023, hybrid to follow

A new-generation Ford Mustang could arrive as early as 2023, with the first electrified version of the coupe rumoured to follow.

According to industry analyst firm AutoForecast Solutions as reported by US industry news outlet Autoline, Ford is set to launch the seventh-generation Mustang in March of 2023 – although at this stage it’s unclear if we’ll see a heavily-revised version of the current model, or if it will be an all-new car.

In January 2021, AutoForecast was quoted as saying the “next-generation” Mustang wouldn’t launch until 2028, suggesting production of the current model will be extended – likely with the help of a significant facelift. Ford downplayed the reports at the time, but stopped short of denying the claim.

Some media outlets in the US are stating the S650 – the codename for the seventh-generation Mustang – will be based on the current-gen S550 Mustang. If true, Ford may be testing prototypes in broad daylight wearing the body of the current model, and could explain why we have yet to see a camouflaged S650 on the road.

While the more recent report from AutoLine suggests the hybrid version won’t arrive until 2025, a leak in October from a Ford engineer listed a 2.3-litre four-cylinder hybrid and a 5.0-litre V8 hybrid as powertrains for the 2023 Mustang.

A previously-uncovered patent filing shows Ford is looking at offering a V8 with dual electric motors mounted to each side of the engine, to create an all-wheel-drive layout.

"Ford has made no secret of the fact that we are electrifying our most popular nameplates," Ford's chief product development officer Hau Thai-Tang said at the unveiling of an electric Mustang coupe in 2019.

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In November 2020, a representative from a Canadian auto workers’ union revealed during a press conference Ford was working on a new 6.8-litre V8 destined for the Mustang and F-150.

With the eighth-generation Mustang coupe looking likely to move to an all-electric powertrain when it arrives in the later part of this decade, the 6.8-litre could be the pony car’s swansong before the V8 goes extinct, offered alongside the hybrid 5.0-litre V8 and hybrid 2.3-litre four.

The mounting evidence points to a new-generation 2023 Ford Mustang on the horizon, with its unveiling possible before the end of this year.