Ford Fox platform
| Ford Fox platform | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Ford Motor Company |
| Production | 1979–1993 model years |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class |
Compact Mid-size Personal luxury car Pony car |
| Layout | FR |
| Body style(s) | two-door convertible two-door coupe three-door hatchback |
| Vehicles | see below |
| Chronology | |
| Successor |
Ford SN-95 platform Ford D2C platform Ford MN12 platform Ford D186 platform Ford CE14 platform |
The Ford Fox platform is an automobile platform that was used by Ford Motor Company in North America for various compact and mid-size vehicles for the Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln divisions. Using a rear-wheel drive, unibody chassis configuration, the Fox platform was used by Ford from 1978 to 1993; a substantial redesign of the Ford Mustang extended its life another eleven years to the 2004 model year. With the exception of the Panther platform, the Fox platform is the longest-produced vehicle architecture by Ford Motor Company.
Designed to be relatively lightweight and simple, the Fox platform was originally intended as the replacement for derivatives of the original Ford Falcon architecture (dating from 1960); the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zepyhr were introduced to replace the Ford Maverick and Mercury Comet, respectively. As downsizing came into wider use throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Fox platform came into wider use, included in many redesigns and major model shifts.
During the early 1980s, Ford began to phase out the use of the Fox platform, as sedan and station wagon versions were shifted onto more fuel-efficient front-wheel drive platforms; after the 1988 model year, only the Ford Mustang and Lincoln Mark VII coupes remained. For 1994, the Ford Mustang was given a major redesign,
The Fox platform, like most compact and mid-size cars of the late 1970s, was designed with a rear-wheel drive layout. In contrast to the full-size Fords and Mercurys of the time, the Fox platform used unibody construction.
For the first time in a rear-wheel drive Ford, the Fox platform used MacPherson strut front suspension, continuing the use of a live rear axle suspension configuration. Initially configured with rear drum brakes, 4-wheel disc brakes were added to higher-performance vehicles, including the Lincoln Continental Mark VII, Ford Mustang SVO, 1994-2004 Ford Mustang, and the Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe/Mercury Cougar XR7.
Due to the use of strut front suspension, the Fox platform was designed with a wider engine bay than its Falcon-chassis predecessor. As a result, the chassis was flexible in its use of longitudinal engines, accommodating a wide variety of powertrains, including four-cylinder (naturally-aspirated and turbocharged), inline-6, V6, and V8 engines, ranging from a 2.3L inline-4 to a 5.8L V8 (the most powerful Fox-platform car is the 2003-2004 Mustang SVT Cobra with a 390 hp supercharged 4.6L V8). To further improve the fuel economy of Lincoln Fox-platform vehicles in the 1980s, the platform was adapted for the use of BMW diesel inline-6 engines.
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Wikipedia