the new third generation mustang that came out in 1979 may have been the most important mustang ever. one reason was the return of a powerful v-8 in 1982 which was developed in later years into an even more powerful engine. the basic design continued all the way through the 1993 model year, with a fourth generation launching for the 1994 model year but still using the platform of the old car, but with hundreds of thousands of improvements over the years, very few parts except for some minor chassis parts stayed unchanged.