Ford Mustang four-door invokes Falcon spirit

Is there demand for a large V8 rear-drive passenger sedan in this country?

The demise of the homegrown Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore suggest not, but this new rendering from SRK Designs shows how sleek a family-friendly Mustang sedan could look.

Pictured here as a Mustang GT model, it would ostensibly achieve propulsion via the Ford's 5.0-litre V8 (339kW/556Nm), pumping through a 10-speed automatic transmission.

If Ford HQ in Detroit did miraculously green-light a four-door Mustang, Ford Australia would no doubt jump at the chance to bring the car here. But the brand would be hesitant to resurrect the hallowed Ford Falcon nameplate, given the lashings Holden received from rusted-on Commodore fans upset with the brand for applying the badge to the German-made Opel Insignia, which was front/all-wheel drive and four/six-cylinder only.

The Ford Falcon was one of the world's longest running nameplates and one of Australia's most-loved models, despite the fact there have been some shockers in the past, and there's no doubt a large V8 sports sedan from Ford would find favour with a small number of buyers, whatever the badge.

However, it should be noted that the rear-drive Kia Stinger failed to live up to sales expectations in Australia, despite Kia initially predicting it would find favour with thousands of former Falcon and Commodore buyers.

Kia has since conceded Aussies don't like rear-drive cars.

Some state police forces have employed the rear-drive Korean sports sedan for use by their highway patrol fleets, which love the Stinger's thumping 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 (272kW/510Nm) and generous interior space, but with only 1773 sales in 2019 it was comprehensively outsold by the Ford Mustang.

Last year the Ford Mustang outsold all other passenger cars from Ford, including the Mondeo and Focus. Back in 2018, the Mustang was Ford Australia's second best seller behind only the Ford Ranger ute.

But with Ford's attention on the upcoming five-door electric SUV badged as Mustang Mach-E (which may be offered with a tyre-shredding burnout mode!), the chances of a V8 Mustang sedan are very slim.