Just in time for May the Fourth, Ford’s design manager Melvin Betancourt opened up about some of the inspiration behind the 2018 Mustang facelift. It turns out the pony car’s new, frowny face has a dark background. The design’s inspiration came from a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
“When we were designing the new 2018 Mustang, the team wanted to make the new model look more aggressive, and one place where we found inspiration was one of the most famous screenplay villains of all time. The angled nostrils and contours of Darth Vader’s mask became the inspiration for the Mustang’s new fog lamp scoops and front-end shape.”
A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.
It might be hard to see the Sith Lord in the new Mustang when you first see it, but when you’re looking for the resemblance it becomes clear. The trapezoidal lower front end of the Mustang does resemble Darth Vader’s mouthpiece and the sharp angles, yet smooth features come together in much the same way as the iconic helmet.
When looking for inspiration on how to make a car more aggressive, turning to one of the most menacing villains in the history of visual media isn’t a bad course to take. What’s next for Ford? Will the new Ford Bronco look like Boba Fett’s helmet? Maybe a Stormtrooper inspired Fiesta? Wherever their design inspiration comes from, we hope Ford continues making some of the most exciting performance cars in the galaxy.