We’d like to think that the Mach-E isn’t the Mustang of the future and the game designers of Cyberpunk 2077 seem to agree. Even though their futuristic metropolis is placed decades ahead, you don’t see folks rolling around in Nissan crossovers or even Porsche electric SUVs.
Instead, the vehicles are bespoke yet resemble designs that would be about 80 or 90 years old by then. And even though it’s a child of the 1970s, digital artist Rostislav Prokop somehow managed to make a Mach 1 into a believable 2077 vehicle.
The digital makeover imbues this old pony design with some crazy bodywork, namely the front and rear flares, which are quite boxy, and the usual aero culprits. The front splitter is especially attention-grabbing because it gives the Mach 1 sporty character it really needs. Of course, it wouldn’t be a cyberpunk makeover without window louvers and some wrap-around LED taillights.
We don’t know the precise model year of the digitized car. It looks like a 1973 model, though it could also be 1971-1972. This wasn’t a particularly happy time for fans of the Mustang, as the Mach 1 was but a shell of its former glory.
Some say it’s an ugly facelift. The Ford needed to comply with new NHTSA crash standards, which gave the Mustang redesigned front and rear bumpers. The front bumper on all models was now a much larger body-colored urethane unit, mounted on impact absorbing struts. Ironically, it looks like a first-gen Camaro, while the Chevy itself was quite the looker during its contemporary split-bumper era.
Models went up in price but lost some power due to stricter emissions standards. The standard 302 lost 10 ponies for a grand total of 210 hp. You could still get this Mach 1 with a big-block V8, a 429 Cobra Jet. While this had the same displacement as the Boss “semi-hemi” of 1970, the engine was actually a short-stroke version of the Thunderbird 460ci V8 and had conventional construction.
