Ford did a better job with Mustang III: based on the new 'Fox' global platform, it was longer than before, with a longer wheelbase and roomier cabin, yet it weighed some 200lbs less and had much cleaner, crisper styling. Available in two-door booted or three-door hatchback form, with optional removable targa panels, it again had the live rear axle, but the front suspension was a new MacPherson strut layout; three different suspension set-ups were offered, with a full Special Suspension package available with cast aluminium wheels. Engines remained the same at first, however, so performance was hardly improved; a new, lighter 2.3-litre four-cylinder (140bhp) made up for the continuation of the older unit, now giving barely 90bhp, and a new 3.3 straight-six filled the gap between that and the ageing V8 - detuned further to 120bhp by 1980. A turbocharger upgrade was offered with the new four-cylinder engine, boosting the 0-60 time to just over 9 seconds, but this proved unreliable and, in many cases, virtually undriveable, with horrible turbo lag and an alarming tendency to catch fire. Nonetheless, the Mustang was still credible enough to act as a pace car for the 1979 Indianapolis 500 race, and Ford built 11,000 Indy Pace Car replicas to celebrate; over 350,000 Mustangs were sold in 1980.
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Sales dipped in '81, though, to just over 180,000 despite the much-improved manual transmission (with overdrive, effectively giving a fifth gear), the option of a better limited-slip differential which made the car much more predictable and tractable, and a convertible-like T-Top targa. The Capri V8 was dropped from the range. 1982 brought a decent engine back, the 5.0-litre HO (High Output) V8, good for 155bhp - hardly high output by today's standards, or those of the early '70s, but an improvement nonetheless. The convertible returned in 1983, the first proper Mustang soft-top for ten years, and all models received a more rounded nose and restyled taillights. The 3.3 V6 was replaced by a 3.8 V6 (110bhp), the 2.3 turbo was reworked and fitted with electronic fuel injection, which made it more reliable, and the 5.0 V8 was boosted to 175bhp thanks to the addition of a four-barrel Holley carb.
