Page 204 - Wayne Carini's Guide to Affordable Classics

The change in appearance was also radical, discarding the Mustang II’s European-inspired design and opting for a smooth- sided, boxy presentation. Like its predecessor, the new Mustang would be available as a three-door hatchback or a two-door coupe.
The United States was, at the time, a convertible-free zone for domestic cars. If there was one fact that damned the cars of this era to mediocrity and depression, that was it. Ford made a sop to open air driving by bringing back the T-Top starting in 1981, and then finally relented and added a convertible to the Mustang line in 1983.
202Wayne CariniAffordable Classics
ABOVE: Among the initial bodies available were the coupe and hatchback, which were joined by a T-Top variant in 1981.
TOP LEFT: Notwithstanding the year on the license plate, the Mustang convertible didn’t appear until 1983. It was the first open Mustang to appear in almost ten years.
MIDDLE LEFT: The Cobra appearance package was available from 1979 to 1981. It offered a 2.3-liter turbocharged engine and custom graphics and exterior trim. In total, 17,579 were built.
LEFT: The Mustang GT replaced the Cobra in 1982. Additional trim levels available were the L, GL and GLX, which is pictured here.
While the platform and bodywork were all-new, the early Fox- body engine selection was carried over from the prior Mustang. Buyers could choose from a 2.3-liter Lima (pronounced like the bean, after the Lima, Ohio plant where it was built) SOHC four cylinder with 88 horsepower and 118 lb ft of torque, or the same basic engine with a turbocharger that boosted horsepower output to 140. To put it charitably, the turbo engine had issues, as did all early attempts at mass-market turbocharging. But the turbo Mustang did 0-55 (60 mph being illegal throughout the US at the time) in just over eight seconds, which was a bit faster than the V8.