The SN95 Mustang is Ford's fourth generation of the original ponycar, produced between 1994 and 2004, also sometimes referred to as the Fox-4 Mustang. The second half of SN95 Mustang production, called the New Edge Mustang (1999-2004), was treated to a dramatic restyle. HOT ROD's Johnny Hunkins has already covered the New Edge Mustang, and our focus will be the first half of SN95 Mustang production, from 1994 to 1998.

The SN95 Mustang marked such a dramatic improvement in styling, ride, and handling dynamics over the Fox-body Mustang that it won MotorTrend's Car of the Year award in 1994. Ford leaned heavily on the desires of the most die-hard Mustang enthusiasts to come up with the overall design of the SN95 Mustang, moving a total of 620,326 units in the first five years of production.

With the rising values of Fox-body Mustangs in the collector-car market, the SN95 represents one of the best value quotients when it comes to Mustang ownership. Even the much-maligned Mustang II holds more value in some cases than a solid-running SN95 Mustang GT. While the SN95 Mustang does suffer a weight penalty over the Fox-body, its more rigid chassis and improved suspension tuning make it a viable choice for racers. And, as with any generation of Mustang, there are plenty of rare and collectible models for pony car collectors to seek out.

SN95 is Ford's internal code name for the fourth-generation Mustang. 'S' stands for Small/Specialty Market, 'N' for North American Operations, and 95 is the sequence number of approved vehicle projects. Unlike the Fox platform—which was the basis of 15 vehicles in the Ford/Lincoln/Mercury lineup throughout its 26 years of production—the SN95 platform was only used for the Ford Mustang.

The update to the Fox-body platform for the SN95 Mustang almost didn't happen. Before reaching out to the most dedicated of Mustang enthusiasts, the execs at the Blue Oval had played around with the idea of using the Ford Probe's front-wheel drive architecture to underpin the forth-coming Mustang. It's a good thing Ford listened to the fans; they demanded a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout and a return of the Mustang to more "American" styling (one of those individually-defined concepts) with some classic Mustang design elements.

Ford spent $700 million and took only 36 months to redevelop the Fox-body platform into the SN95 Mustang. Sounds like a lot, but consider that they spent $6 billion and took almost six years in developing the CDW27 platform that underpinned the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique in North America. Indeed, the fourth-generation Mustang is arguably a refresh of the third-gen—albeit a very comprehensive refresh—but in any case the SN95 was not a true clean-sheet design.

Ford engineers and designers managed to improve on the Fox-body platform in every way, and completely restyled both the interior and exterior of the Mustang, making the SN95 totally distinct from the Fox-body platform. While the exterior sheetmetal and dual-cockpit interior may appear to be the most extreme differences, the real magic of the SN95 lies in the unibody structure.

One of the big asks of the Mustang enthusiasts Ford relied on to redesign the Mustang was improved ride quality. Ford achieved this by stiffening the unidbody, more firmly tying together all the structural components like the floorpan to the rocker panels, reducing flex in the shock towers and suspension pickup points—nothing was left untouched. With the stiffer unibody structure, Ford engineers were able to retune the suspension of the SN95 Mustang to offer more suspension compliance with the same high-limit handling characteristics of Fox-body Mustang.

The SN95 Mustang received a new base engine, ditching the Fox's 2.3-liter inline-four in favor of the more powerful and refined 3.8-liter Essex V-6. Ford's venerable 5.0-liter V-8 (also known as the 302) was a carryover for '94, with an increase of 10 ponies to 215 hp over 1993.

The SN95 Mustang does suffer a not insignificant weight penalty over the Fox-body, on average about 200 pounds, depending on options and equipment. To tame the prancing pony, Ford equipped the new Mustang with power four-wheel disc brakes as standard, with ABS optional on V-6-powered models and standard on V-8-powered GTs.

With the weight increase, a five-lug bolt pattern on the wheels became standard on the SN95 (now a popular upgrade for Fox-body owners, as the front spindles of the SN95 are interchangeable with the previous generation Mustang's). Along with the dramatically restyled exterior and more refined interior, the SN95 Mustang is bigger than its predecessor in every dimension—wider track width, longer wheelbase, more hip room, and longer overall length.

The fourth generation of Mustang marked a departure from the three body-style lineup. Previous generations of Mustang included square- or notch-back two-door sedans, fastback or hatchback coupes, and two-door convertible layouts, but the SN95 was only offered in a traditional two-door coupe and convertible layout.

For 1994 and 1995, the SN95 engine and transmission options were the previously mentioned 3.8-liter Essex V-6 for the base model, and the Fox-body carry-over 5.0-liter small-block V-8 in the Mustang GT, making 145 hp and 215 hp respectively. Ford's four-speed AOD-E automatic transmission and T-5 five-speed manual transmission were available with both engines. The high-performance SVT Cobra models received a more potent small-block, making 240 hp, paired only with the World Class T-5 manual transmission (an upgraded version of the standard T-5 capable of handling more power). 1995 was the only year the race-car-for-the-road Cobra R package was offered in the early-SN95 Mustangs, boasting a 300-hp, 365 lb-ft 351W V-8 and a Tremec TR-3550 five-speed manual transmission. Only 250 1995 Mustang Cobra R's were produced, all in white with Saddle cloth interior, and only available to purchase by race teams or drivers with a racing license.

In 1996, Ford removed the 302 small-block from the Mustang lineup, replacing it with the single overhead cam two-valve 4.6-liter Modular V-8 in the GT, offering the same 215 hp and 285 lb-ft of torque with improved fuel efficiency and reduced weight over the aging small-block architecture. With the new V-8 offering under the SN95 Mustang's hood, the automatic-transmission option was changed to Ford's 4R70W four-speed, which also featured refinements in driveability and efficiency.

1996-1998 SN95 Mustangs carried over the high-performance SVT Cobra package from the 302-powered cars of '94 and '95, and all five years of early-SN95 Mustang Cobras featured unique body, chassis, and engine bits from lesser V-6-powered and GT Mustangs. The front fascia featured round foglamps on the Mustang Cobra. SN95 Mustang GTs had rectangular fog lamps, and the 1995 Cobra R featured the round fog lamp holes repurposed as brake-cooling ducts. Cobra badges replace GT emblems, and the SN95 Cobra also wore a unique rear spoiler with an integrated stop lamp, along with a number of interior touches, like the white-faced gauges and 160 mph speedometer.

On the mechanical side of things, SN95 SVT Cobras also had upgraded brakes—13-inch vented front discs and 11.65-inch rear discs, with dual-piston calipers and standard ABS (versus 10.8" vented front discs, 10.5-inch rear discs with single-piston calipers). Thicker anti-roll bars and revised suspension and chassis tuning eliminated some of the purposely-designed understeering characteristics of the SN95 chassis (the average Mustang buyer in the mid-1990s was under the age of 25, and Mustang drivers suffer from bad reputations because of youthful exuberance). SN95 Cobras also rode on unique 17x8-inch cast-aluminum wheels. 1996-1998 SVT Cobras were powered by the dual overhead cam, four-valve version of the 4.6 Mod motor, making 305 hp.

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the Mustang, a trio SVT Cobra convertibles served as the pace cars for the 1994 Indianapolis 500, modified by Jack Roush with heavier-duty suspension to support the safety lights and camera equipment, a fire-suppression system, and 15-gallon racing fuel-cells. To commemorate the occasion, Ford offered 1,000 Indy 500 Pace Car replicas to the buying public, all painted in Rio Red with Saddle leather interiors and Saddle vinyl tops. The 1994 Mustang SVT Cobra Indy 500 Pace Car Replicas featured embroidered Indy 500 logos on the front seatbacks and chrome badges on the deck lid, and had vinyl decals customers could stick to the side of the car if they chose.

The Shelby and Ford repartnering completely missed the SN95 Mustang, but there were plenty of other hopped-up tuner versions available. Jack Roush offered three stages of upgrades, ranging from the appearance package of Stage 1 to the high-performance pack of Stage 3. Steeda also offered similar stages of performance and styling upgrades with the Steeda Mustang, Steeda Mamba, and Steeda Cobra. Saleen also offered SN95 Mustang variants—the Saleen S281 powered by the 4.6-liter Mod motor, and the S351 powered by the 351W small-block, both available with optional superchargers—focused primarily on handling (Saleen successfully campaigned the SN95 in various sports car races, including class wins the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Daytona, with multiple SCCA championships).

Exterior styling did not change much during the first five years of the SN95's production run; the mid-cycle refresh was saved for the drastically-restyled New Edge Mustang in 1999. The easiest way to spot a 1994 or 1995 SN95 versus a 1996-1998 model is the taillights—the first two years feature a horizontal three-bar layout, with the later SN95 Mustangs equipped with vertical three-bar taillights.

The front fascia on base model SN95 Mustangs has no foglights surrounding the lower grille opening. Mustang GTs have rectangular foglights on either side of the lower grille opening and SVT Cobra Models wear the unique, round-foglamp front end and integrated-stop-lamp rear spoiler. Remember, the one-year-only 1995 SVT Cobra R replaced the foglamps with brake cooling ducts and was only available with a stripped interior (no back seat, radio, or A/C) in Saddle cloth with a white exterior.

As with any vehicle platform, common issues can plague higher-mileage examples. The AOD-E automatic transmission needs to be flushed every 30,000-40,000 miles, otherwise the 1-2 shift can be delayed and rough. E-brake cables have a tendency to rub on the driveshaft, causing the housing to wear and the inner cable to fail. Clutch cables are also a common failure point, and aftermarket cables are not a recommended replacement (stock cables are offered by a number or retailers). Throwout bearings are notoriously weak as well.

Despite the shared internal architecture of the SN95 and Fox-body 5.0-liter small-block V-8s, the induction parts are not interchangeable, and the plastic crossover pipes in the SN95's intake manifold are prone to cracking. 1997-and-earlier Mustangs have a tendency for the valve stem seals to go bad at around 120,000 miles. The Essex V-6 is known for developing head gasket leaks as mileage creeps up. Idle air control valves can cause issues as well, but the fix is usually as simple as a replacement gasket with optimized ports. If well-maintained and not abused, any drivetrain layout of the SN95 Mustang has the potential to last hundreds of thousands of miles.

On episode 66 of Roadkill , David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan head to Colorado Auto & Parts, a giant you-pull-it yard with heritage back to 1959—with a good stash of vintage cars that have been there for decades. One of them was a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 that had been melting into the ground since 1980. But 37 years of neglect are not daunting to Roadkill, so the guys figure out how to get it running and driving. First, they've got to deal with 37 years of raccoon poop, which is just part of bringing the Disgustang into the Roadkill fleet of project cars. Sign up for a free trial to MotorTrend+ and start watching every episode of Roadkill today!