With three different Mustang mockups to chose from named after '90s icon, Schwarzenegger won this battle.
The '90s were an interesting time for Ford Mustang designers. While developing on the fourth-generation Mustang to sit on the Fox-body platform for the last time, three names were chosen for three variations of the new body style: Bruce Jenner, Rambo, and Schwarzenegger.
Bruce Jenner Mustang
Thanks to the 1973 Oil Crisis, sports car sales were declining as people were opting for better fuel economy. While trying to save the Mustang moniker, Blue Oval designers were working hard to develop a car that would still appeal to the general public. With Ford and Mazda having a good relationship, the American automaker developed a front-wheel-drive Japanese While hardcore Mustang fans gawked at the idea of a the Mustang being a front-wheel-drive car, they still went ahead with the project and called it the Ford Probe based on the Mazda MX-6.
With Ford hearing the public's cry of the Mustang to remain rear-wheel-drive, developing a new Mustang platform was delayed and the Fox platform remained in place and became the longest running platform for the pony car. This fourth-generation SN95 body was debuted in November of 1993, and it would remain a four-wheel-drive pony car.
Rambo Mustang
Blue Oval designers went to work and cooked up a few clay models and prototypes that were interesting to say the least. One of the models had the running horse facing the opposite way, others were still designed with front-wheel-drive, and one resembled a fourth-generation Pontiac Trans-Am to the dismay of many Mustang enthusiasts.
From here, Ford paid attention to what enthusiasts expected out of the new Mustang, and most of the gripes were about styling. Enthusiasts wanted the car to still resemble the Mustangs from the classic years, not the Fox-body, but with obvious update in the cosmetic department. It had to be offered in a V8 that was easy to work on, somewhat inexpensive, easy to customize, and of course, rear-wheel-drive.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Mustang
While plenty of work went into the design of the SN95 Mustang body with all kinds of different sketches and the like, this new Mustang was narrowed down to three different representations that all looked completely different from each other. Each one was given the name of a popular icon of the time.
The mockup that was named Bruce Jenner, back when he was a star Olympic athlete, was given more of a slimmer body. An over-the-top model that was given a super aggressive appearance was named after Rambo, a popular character played by Sylvester Stallone. And the third variation was called Arnold Schwarzenegger and was a blend of the two others versions.
The Rambo mockup was way too aggressive in appearance, and the Bruce Jenner was too tame. The Schwarzenegger edition ended up being the chosen one.
H/T: Auto Evolution
