A Solid Rear Axle in the 2015 Ford Mustang is a Drag Racers Dream Come True

The Ford Mustang has traditionally been a performance car that was criticized by some for its inability to handle a turn and with the vast majority of Mustang owners who do race participating in drag racing – it has never really made much of a difference if the solid rear axle has been holding the fabled pony car back in the world of handling performance. However, with the introduction of the 2015 Mustang, Ford has designed a standard suspension system for the entire model lineup that includes independent rear suspension so the S550 Mustang will likely be the best handling Mustang family ever. This is great news for those who want to road race their Mustang and for those who simply want better on-road handling performance from their brand new Mustang but it comes as bad news to the hoards of Mustang racers who live their lives a quarter mile at a time.

The solid rear axle setup in most factory-built Mustangs over the last 50 years has comfortably proven itself to be the better choice when heading to the drag strip so for hardcore drag racers, the independent rear suspension setup in the 2015 Ford Mustang comes as a obstacle to overcome rather than a welcomed improvement. Fortunately, a new report from the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Expo indicates that there will be a solid rear axle package for the S550 Mustang – it just won’t be offered on any models intended for street use.

According to the folks from Gas2.org, Ford Motor Company (or more likely Ford Racing) will debut a new Body in White next generation Mustang at the 2014 PRI Expo and under that bare bones Mustang chassis will be a solid rear axle. If you are unfamiliar with Body in White packages, these are literally cars stripped down to just the chassis and suspension components that are sold to racers who take care of the rest of the work. General Motors offered a Chevrolet Camaro Body in White package for those who want to build their own COPO Camaro and Honda offers a Body in White package for Civic fans who want to go road racing. Basically, this package allows racers to acquire the shell of a car for as little cost as possible and from there; the new owner is responsible for adding all of the interior and drivetrain components to make the car race ready.

The 2015 Ford Mustang Body in White program will allegedly include a 9” Ford solid rear axle housing and we would fully expect that the 2015 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet will also feature this solid rear axle setup since the Cobra Jet is designed specifically for drag racing. Once this new S550 solid rear axle is available in the Cobra Jet and in the Body in White Mustang, it will likely become available through Ford Racing and from there – 2015 Mustang owners who want to optimize their drag racing capabilities will be able to buy the parts that they need straight from Ford to convert their S550 Mustang over to an old school solid rear axle design.

This is great news for 2015+ Ford Mustang owners who are devoted to drag racing but the bad news is that with the Body in White Mustang rumored to appear at next year’s PRI show – it could be quite some time before the solid rear axle becomes available through Ford Racing. In the meantime, features like Launch Control and Burnout Control should help drag racers get the best times possible from their 2015 Mustang but for those looking to build seriously fast S550 Mustangs, the solid rear axle kit may prove to be a necessity.

Source: Gas2.org