First look: Mustang muscles in at Motown

THE next generation of the iconic Mustang GT was the star of an extensive display by Ford at the 2003 Detroit auto show, which kicked off last week.

The car-maker, which celebrates its centenary on June 16, chose Detroit to show off a silver Mustang coupe and a red convertible, only the third all-new generation vehicle in the car's 40-year history.

The two Mustangs appeared to the strains of Wilson Pickett's Mustang Sally and the wild applause of several thousand Ford employees who had been invited to celebrate the first appearance of what is America's best known sports muscle car.

They go on sale in the US in 2004.

In total, Ford made more than 15 global debuts at Detroit, three times its usual number, emphasising its determination to stage a product-led recovery from its current financial plight, which saw it lose $US5 billion in 2002 and announce the loss of 21,500 jobs and the closure of five plants in North America.

"Actions speak louder than words and products speak louder than actions," declared Ford president and chief operating officer Nick Scheele, standing under a banner on-stage at Detroit which blared "Great products will lead us into the future".

The supporting act to the Mustangs included the Freestyle FX - a close styling relation inside and out to Ford Australia's Raptor cross-over four-wheel drive wagon - and the enviro-friendly Model U.

Other cars to debut included a Mercury coupe called the Messenger, the next generation F-Series and a V10 sedan evoking 1960s design called the 427.

The Mustang concepts are the latest cars in Ford's Living Legends series, which provide modern interpretations of some of the Blue Oval's most famous cars. Drawn by Ford styling chief J Mays, the new Mustang evokes the 1967 model when the look was significantly toughened.

The Mustang concepts are based on a modified version of the Thunderbird rear-wheel drive platform with Ford's ubiquitous modular 4.6-litre V8 in 300kW supercharged form housed under the bonnet. The production car is expected to offer a variety of V6 and V8 power.

The coupe is fitted with a six-speed manual transmission and the convertible with a five-speed auto, while Brembo brakes sit inside 20-inch wheels wrapped in ultra-low profile rubber.

The car is also capable of right-hand drive conversion, but whether that will actually happen or if the car will come to Australia is unknown.

Inside, there's the expected concept car combination leather and billet aluminium hardware which is simple and, like the outside, reminiscent of the 1960s pony car.